Shigeko Kagawa was born in Japan on 28 May 1911.
Ms. Kagawa served as a torch runner for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. She was the world’s oldest runner to ever appear, and she completed the 300m in her wheelchair pushed by her granddaughter-in-law.
In September 2022, she was reported as the oldest living person in Nara Prefecture, Japan.
As of June 17, 2024, she lives in Yamatokoriyama, Nara Prefecture, Japan.
Aged 109 during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in April 2021.
Aged 111 in September 2022.
Aged 112 in September 2023.
http://www.supercentenariditalia.it/persone-viventi-piu-longeve-in-italia.
Persone viventi più longeve in Italia – Supercentenari d'Italia (supercentenariditalia.it)
New article and pictures: https://news.ntv.co.jp/n/ytv/category/society/yt08e15a7ad190485dba7b3c0236caaa3d
According to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the previous oldest person in Japan, Hiroyasu Miyoko of Nakatsu City, Oita Prefecture, passed away on the 29th, making Kagawa, who was born on May 28, 1911, at 114 years old, the oldest person in Japan.
According to the city, Kagawa grew up in Yamatokoriyama City and continued to work as an obstetrician-gynecologist and internist even into her 80s. She currently lives with her family, eats three meals a day, and enjoys calligraphy at her day care center.
Yamatokoriyama Mayor Ueda Kiyoshi commented, "I believe the fact that you saved so many lives as an obstetrician-gynecologist is what led to you having the longest lifespan in Japan. Please continue to cheer us all up with your beautiful smile."
http://www.supercentenariditalia.it/persone-viventi-piu-longeve-in-italia.
Persone viventi più longeve in Italia – Supercentenari d'Italia (supercentenariditalia.it)
https://longeviquest.com/2025/07/shigeko-kagawa-114-confirmed-as-japans-oldest-resident/
Shigeko Kagawa (賀川滋子), a resident of Yamatokōriyama, Nara Prefecture, has been confirmed as the new oldest living resident of Japan, following the passing of Ōita’s Miyoko Hiroyasu on 29 July.
Kagawa was born on 28 May 1911. After graduating from Osaka Women’s Medical College (now Kansai Medical University), she became a doctor in her twenties and worked at a hospital in Osaka during the Pacific War. Even as an elderly woman, she was able to remember the sight of the city burnt down by air raids during the war and how people lost their lives in an instant.
After the war, she took over her family’s clinic, and contributed to the local medical care as an obstetrician and gynecologist. She used to have a telephone by her bedside every night and would rush to her patients’ homes when called, early in the morning or late at night. She retired at the age of 86.
In September 2022, Kagawa was reported as the oldest living person in Nara Prefecture.
Kagawa is one of the last two known surviving Japanese people born in 1911, along with Fuyo Kishimoto.
http://www.supercentenariditalia.it/persone-viventi-piu-longeve-in-italia.
Persone viventi più longeve in Italia – Supercentenari d'Italia (supercentenariditalia.it)