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World’s oldest man turns 112

19 September 2007 09:03 (UTC +04:00)

The worldâ€™s oldest man turned 112 today â€” and heâ€™s looking forward to a lot more years to come.
Tomoji Tanabe, a retired city land surveyor, received a bouquet and letter of congratulations from the mayor of Miyakonojo City in southern Japan.
When the mayor asked how many more years Tanabe wanted to live, Tanabe replied, â€œfor infinityâ€.
Tanabe was born Sept. 18, 1895. He was declared the worldâ€™s oldest person after the death in January of Emiliano Mercado Del Toro, 115, of Puerto Rico.
Tanabe, who lives with his son and daughter-in-law, drinks lots of milk but eschews alcohol. He also keeps a diary.
Japan has one of the worldâ€™s longest average life spans, a factor often attributed to a healthy diet rich in fish and rice.
The worldâ€™s oldest person is 114-year-old Edna Parker of Shelbyville, Ind., according to Guinness World Records./APA/