The above screenshot from Japanese television shows Chiyono Hasegawa of Saga, Japan, on her 115th birthday on 20 November 2011. She is only the 24th validated and undisputed person in history to reach age 115.
Hasegawa was born on 20 November 1896, and currently ranks as the second-oldest living person in the world, behind Besse Cooper of Georgia, United States, who was born on 26 August 1896. Her 115th birthday marks the first time in almost three years that there have been two living validated 115-year-olds together; the last day this statement held true was 26 November 2008, when Edna Parker of Indiana, United States, died as the world's oldest person at the age of 115 years, 220 days. At the time, Portuguese supercentenarian Maria de Jesus was also 115, and succeeded Parker as the world's oldest person until her own death on 2 January 2009.
Hasegawa became Japan's oldest person upon the death of Kama Chinen of Okinawa on 2 May 2010, aged 113 years, 163 days. Chinen died aged 114 years 357 days old; she had been born on 10 May 1895. Hasegawa is currently the second-oldest identified and undisputed person ever from Japan, behind only Tane Ikai, who died on 12 July 1995 aged 116 years 175 days; she had been born on 18 January 1879, thus being the oldest Japanese supercentenarian born after the implementation of the koseki registration system in Japan in 1872.Interestingly, Hasegawa has been recognised as the world's second-oldest person twice; the first time was on 14 April 2011, upon the death of Walter Breuning, born 21 September 1896. She was moved back to third place on 18 May 2011, with the validation of Maria Gomes Valentim of Brazil, born 9 July 1896, as the world's oldest person. (It should be noted that the 2012 Guinness World Records edition states Maria Gomes Valentim as having been recognised on 13 May 2011.) Valentim's death on 21 June the same year moved her back to second place, a position she has held since.
Hasegawa's birthday also marks the first time in close to seventeen years that a known and undisputed Japanese person has celebrated a 115th birthday; the last time this happened was on 18 January 1994, when Tane Ikai turned 115.
The second-oldest living Japanese at present is a 114-year-old man named Jiroemon Kimura, who currently lives in Kyoto, Japan. Trailing him are Misawo Okawa of Osaka and Kame Nakamura of Okinawa, born on 5 and 8 March 1898 respectively.
Hasegawa is also the oldest ever Asian to see three centuries; the oldest all-time to live in three centuries was Maria Capovilla (14 September 1889 - 27 August 2006), who died aged 116 years, 347 days.
It is stated that as of her 115th birthday, Hasegawa's health had deteriorated from age 114 and she was now living in a care facility. She, however, is still in good mental and physical health.
Update: Chiyono Hasegawa passed away today (2 December 2011) at age 115 years, 12 days. She was the second-oldest living person in the world at the time of her death.
Re-post; reference original post