World’s oldest person Misao Okawa reveals secrets to long life

THE world’s oldest person, Misao Okawa, has celebrated her 117th birthday. Here are her secrets to a very long life.

OSAKA, JAPAN - MARCH 04: Misao Okawa, the world's oldest Japanese woman, poses for a photo on her 117th birthday celebration at Kurenai Nursing Home on March 4, 2015 in Osaka, Japan. Japanese woman Misao Okawa is oldest living person in the world as certified by the Guinness World Records, who celebrates her 117 birthday on March 5. Okawa has been dubbed the worlds oldest living person since the June 12, 2013 death of 116 years and 54 days old Jiroemon Kimura, also Japanese. She is ranked first Oldest Japanese person ever and third person reached to 117in the world. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

THE world’s oldest person says 117 years doesn’t seem like such a long time.

Misao Okawa, the daughter of a kimono maker, made the comment on Wednesday at a celebration a day before her 117th birthday.

MISAO OKAWA: Sushi and sleep ‘the secrets to long life’

Appropriately, she was wearing a pink kimono decorated with cherry blossom prints.

Okawa, born in Osaka on March 5, 1898, was recognised as the world’s oldest person by Guinness World Records in 2013.

“It seemed rather short,” she said after Osaka government official Takehiro Ogura, who brought her a big bouquet, asked how she felt about living for 117 years.

Record holder ... Misao Okawa is the world’s oldest person following the death of 116-year-old Jiroemon Kimura in 2013. Picture: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images

Misao Okawa has four grandchildren. Picture: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images

Misao Okawa’s husband died in 1931. Picture: Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images

Okawa, her hair decorated with a pink daisy pin, looked up from her wheelchair and said she was “very happy” to be that age.

Asked for the secret of her longevity, she responded nonchalantly, “I wonder about that too.”

When she turned 116, she put down her longevity to sushi and sleep.

Japan has the most centenarians in the world, with more than 58,000, according to the government. About 87 per cent of them are women.

Celebration ... Japan's Misao Okawa celebrated her 117th birthday with family and friends. Picture: AP Photo/Kyodo News

Okawa has slowed in recent months and has trouble hearing but she eats well and is in good health, according to her Osaka nursing home.

Okawa married her husband, Yukio, in 1919, and they had three children — two daughters and a son.

She now has four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Her husband died in 1931.