World’s oldest man, who said secret was smiling, dies at 112

Guinness World Records had given the certificate to Chitetsu Watanabe on Feb. 12. The organization and the funeral home handling his services confirmed on Tuesday he had died Sunday. No cause was given.

In this Feb. 12, 2020, file photo, Chitetsu Watanabe, 112, poses next to the calligraphy he wrote after being awarded as the world's oldest living male by Guinness World Records, in Joetsu, Niigata prefecture, northern Japan. The Japanese man who received his certificate as the world's oldest man with a raised fist and big smiles earlier this month has died at 112. Guinness World Records confirmed on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 he had died Sunday.

A Japanese man who received his certificate as the world’s oldest man with a raised fist and big smiles earlier this month has died at 112.

Guinness World Records had given the certificate to Chitetsu Watanabe on Feb. 12. The organization and the funeral home handling his services confirmed on Tuesday he had died Sunday. No cause was given.

Watanabe is survived by his five children, 12 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild, Mainichi said.

Watanabe’s family did not immediately answer calls to their home.

Watanabe was born in 1907 and worked in Taiwan for 18 years. After returning to Niigata, northern Japan, he worked for the prefectural government until retirement.

Guinness in Japan offered its condolences to his family.

The oldest living person is also Japanese, Kane Tanaka, a 117-year-old woman.