Tokyo: Tomoji Tanabe, has celebrated being the oldest man in the world at the age of 112.

Born on 18 September 1895, he celebrated his record birthday at home in Miyakonojo, on the island of Kyushu, 900 kilometres south-west of the capital.

The town’s Mayor paid his respects with a bunch of flowers and a cheque for 850 yen, equal to around 650 euro. And of course, the question about the secret of a long life. Drink milk, steer clear of alcohol and eat healthily: lots of greens and a breakfast of rice soup, miso (fermented soya) and algae.

Tanabe claims that he has never stopped keeping his diary, reading every daily paper of the day and going for a walk alone. “He is in really good health”, doctors assure us.

“I want to live for ever, I do not want to die”, he told journalists. It is a target that more and more Japanese are attaining: according to statistics, there are over 32,000 hundred-year-olds.

Japanese women have held the world record in longevity for the past twenty-two years, with the men second only to Icelanders.