World’s oldest man is a 111-year-old retired Japanese educator who loves poetry

Asked how he felt about the Guinness World Record, Sakari Momoi pushed his back upright and said he wants to live longer: 'Say another two years'. Kyodo News / AP Photo

TOKYO // A 111-year-old retired Japanese educator who enjoys poetry has been recognised as the world’s oldest living man.

Sakari Momoi received a certificate from Guinness World Records at a ceremony Wednesday. He succeeds Alexander Imich of New York, who died in June at the age of 111 years, 164 days.

The world’s oldest living person is also Japanese: Misao Okawa, a 116-year-old woman from Osaka.

Mr Momoi was born February 5, 1903, in Fukushima prefecture, where he became a teacher. He moved to the city of Saitama, north of Tokyo, after the Second World War and served as a high school principal there until retirement.

At the televised ceremony, Mr Momoi wore a dark suit and silver tie, with his white hair neatly combed back. He stood up from his wheelchair and moved to a chair next to it with little assistance.

Asked how he felt about the record, Mr Momoi pushed his back upright and said he wants to live longer.

“Say, another two years,” he said.

Mr Momoi, who said he enjoys reading books, especially Chinese poetry, has five children and lives at a nursing home in Tokyo.

* Associated Press