Tokyo 2020 Olympic torchbearer Shigeko Kagawa becomes Japan’s oldest living person at 114

An Olympic torchbearer from Tokyo 2020 has become the oldest living person in Japan at 114 years old.

Shigeko Kagawa encapsulated the Olympic spirit when carrying the flame through the streets of Nara at the age of 109.

“As a torchbearer, I would like to express my gratitude for the long and healthy life that I am able to lead in this new era of harmony, and for the support of the local community,” she said at the time.

Kagawa was as a doctor who graduated before World War II, served at a hospital in Osaka during the war, and then retired at 86 having later worked in obstetrics and gynecology.

She was accepted as a torchbearer after her granddaughter wrote to organisers saying her grandmother “saved many lives and contributed to the community”, adding: “Please make this 109-year-old’s dreams come true.”

At 114, she becomes Japan’s oldest living person following the death of Miyoko Hiroyasu, according to Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.