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Heart failure

The world's oldest person dies at 117

Jessica Durando
USA TODAY
In this  Feb. 27, 2013 photo, Japan's Misao Okawa, then 114, poses with the certificate of the world's oldest woman, which was presented to her by Guinness World Records Japan Country Manager Erika Ogawa, unseen, at a nursing home in Osaka, western Japan.

Ironically, Misao Okawa has described her life as "rather short."

The world's oldest person, died Wednesday, just weeks after celebrating her 117th birthday.

The Japanese woman, who said 117 years goes by rather quickly, died of heart failure and stopped breathing, said Tomohiro Okada, an official at her Osaka nursing home, according to the AP.

"She went so peacefully, as if she had just fallen asleep," Okada told the AP. "We miss her a lot."

Okawa, the daughter of a kimono maker, was born on March 5, 1898, in Osaka and was recognized as the oldest person in the world by Guiness World Records in 2013.

Okada said Okawa lost her appetite about 10 days ago. She celebrated her birthday in March at her nursing home, wearing a pink kimono with cherry blossom prints. During her birthday, she was quoted as saying she was "very happy" to be that age.

Photos: World's oldest person celebrating 117th birthday

But wasn't sure what the secret to longevity was. "I wonder about that too," she told the AP.

Okawa wed her husband, Yukio, in 1919, and they had two daughters and a son. Her husband died in 1931, according to the AP.

She was survived by four grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Since Okawa's death, the world's oldest person is now an American namedGertrude Weaver, who lives in Arkansas. Weaver, like Okawa, was born in 1898, and is due to turn 117 on July 4.

Contributing: Mary Bowerman and Matthew Diebel, USA TODAY

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