He was voted the oldest man in the world by the Guinness World Records on Wednesday. Chitetsu Watanabe, 112, was awarded his title in the retirement home where he resides, in Niigata, in northwest Japan, where he was born on March 5, 1907. The previous record holder, Masazo Nonaka , another Japanese, died last January at 112 years and 266 days.
Chitetsu Watanabe, who had five children, said the secret to his longevity was simply "not to get angry and keep smiling". He recognized a cute sin - sweets like caramel pudding - but obviously it didn't hurt him.
The oldest of humanity is a 117 year old Japanese woman
The dean of humanity is a Japanese woman, Kane Tanaka, who celebrated her 117th birthday in January. Japan has one of the highest life expectancies in the world: more than 70,000 centenarians live in the country, out of a total population of around 126 million inhabitants, in strong demographic decline.
The absolute world record for male longevity is that of another Japanese man who died in 2013 shortly after his 116th birthday, Jiroemon Kimura. According to Guinness, the longevity record that can be officially proven, all sexes combined, remains held by the Frenchwoman Jeanne Calment, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days.