Tomoji Tanabe, who became the oldest man alive when Emiliano Mercado Del Toro died at 115, celebrated his 112th birthday today.

The Miyakanojo City mayor presented him with a bouquet of flowers at his home. When asked how long he wanted to live, Tanabe replied, “Indefinitely. I don’t want to die”.

Tanabe lives with his fifth son Motoori, 67, and Motoori’s wife Fujiko, 60. Tanabe keeps a diary, reads the newspaper in detail everyday, and lives without any major assistance or care from other people apart from getting a little help when he needs to bathe, according to his family.

With Tanabe’s very healthy lifestyle, never having had an alcoholic drink, and Japan having the longest average life expectancy, infinity might not be so out of grasp for this young elderly man.

Here is a video of the Mayor visiting Tanabe before his birthday:

(link)

By Sun Tzu on 18-09-2007