TOKYO (AP) - Japan's oldest man, Tomoji Tanabe, blew out candles on his birthday cake with his 3-year-old great-grandchild at his home in southern Japan on Monday, celebrating his 111th birthday, his family said.
"Thanks to all of you, I am living," Tanabe told relatives and local officials who visited his home in southern city of Miyakonojo, in Miyazaki Prefecture, to celebrate his birthday. Tanabe's son, Motoori, quoted his father as saying, "It seems that I will be able to live longer."
Tanabe was presented with flowers and a letter of congratulations from Miyakonojo city Mayor Makoto Nagamine on Monday - a national holiday for the Respect for the Aged Day in Japan, Motoori said.
Tanabe now lives at his home with Motoori, 66, and his family. He has eight children, including Motoori, 25 grandchildren and 54 great-grandchildren, Motoori said.
A former city land surveyor, Tanabe drinks milk, keeps a daily diary, avoids alcohol and does not smoke.
The number of Japanese living beyond 100 has almost quadrupled in the past 10 years, with the once-exclusive centenarian club expected to exceed 28,000 this year, the government has said.
Last week, the Health Ministry said Japan was likely to have 28,395 centenarians at the end of September, an increase from last year's record 25,554 - 85 per cent of them female.
