World’s oldest man Yasutaro Koide dies in Japan aged 112

Japan native, born in 1903, says secret to a long life is not to over do it, drink or smoke

Tue Jan 19 2016 - 11:43

The world's oldest man has died in Japan at the age of 112, two months short of his 113th birthday.

Yasutaro Koide was born on March 13th, 1903, and said his secret for a long life was not to overdo it, or drink or smoke.

A native of Nagoya, Mr Koide worked as a tailor when he was younger. He became the world’s oldest man in August.

The ministry of health, labour and welfare said he died early on Tuesday at a nursing home.

In Japan, 111-year-old Tokyo native Masamitsu Yoshida, born on May 30th, 1904, succeeds Mr Koide as Japan’s oldest man.

It was not immediately known whether Mr Yoshida is also the world’s oldest male.

The world's oldest person is an American woman, 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones of Brooklyn, New York.