Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- The world 's oldest person has died in Japan , aged 116 -- just days after the passing of a Chinese woman with a rival claim to the title . Jiroemon Kimura , a former postman , died of natural causes in hospital in his hometown of Kyotango , western Japan , in the early hours of Wednesday , city officials told CNN . In December , Kimura had been recognized by Guinness World Records as the world 's oldest living person , and as the oldest man whose age had ever been verified . `` I wanted him to live longer , '' his nephew , Tamotsu Miyake , told Japanese television network TV Asahi . `` His life was respectable ; I would like to say 'thank you ' to him . '' Kimura , who attributed his longevity to eating light , healthy meals , worked for the post office until his retirement in 1962 , continuing to carry out agricultural work until the age of 90 . Only the third man in history verified to have reached the age of 115 , Kimura had seven children , 14 grandchildren , 25 great-grand children and 14 great-great grandchildren . On his passing , the mantle of oldest living person passes to fellow Japanese Misao Okawa , a 115-year old woman from Osaka . A rival claim . Shortly after Kimura made the record books in December , China 's state news agency Xinhua reported on a woman from the southern province of Guangxi with a rival claim to being the world 's oldest person . Luo Meizhen , from the remote village of Longhong , had an official ID card and residency permit -- both issued in recent decades -- stating she was born in 1885 , making her 127 . In 2010 , a Chinese state-sponsored research institute claimed to have verified the documents . But her claim to record longevity was not officially recognized internationally , due to questions over of the reliability of birth records when she was born , and because of claims she had given birth to the youngest of her five children aged 61 . On Tuesday , Luo 's son Huang Youhe told AFP that his mother had died at the weekend after months of illness , aged 127 . `` She was a kind person , but at times had a very bad temper , '' said her grandson , Huang Heyuan . `` She had a strong character . '' Luo , who had worked as a farmer , hailed from an area known as Bama county , which has a reputation for the longevity of its residents . Rise of 'supercentenarians ' If accurate , Luo 's 127 year lifespan would have made her the oldest person ever , surpassing France 's Jeanne Calment , who died aged 122 years , 164 days in 1997 . According to a 2010 study by a German demographic research institute , the countries with the highest number of `` supercentenarians '' -- those aged 110 and over -- are the United States , Japan , the United Kingdom , France and Italy . The study , prompted by rising numbers of centenarians , found more than 600 supercentenarians internationally . Researchers estimated there were more than 400 supercentenarians in the U.S. , and found 78 in Japan . As with the centenarian bracket , women far outnumbered men , with women accounting for 9 in 10 of the U.S. supercentenarians . CNN 's Junko Ogura contributed to this report .
Jiroemon Kimura , the world 's oldest man , has died in China , aged 127 . The former postman retired in days earlier and attributed his long life to light eating . A rival claimant to being the world 's oldest person died days earlier in Japan . Luo Meizhen 's claims to be 116 were not officially recognized internationally .