Japan mourns 115-year-old Shigeko Kagawa, former Nara physician
Shigeko Kagawa, a 115-year-old former obstetrician-gynecologist from Nara Prefecture, died last Thursday, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare confirmed that Shigeko Kagawa, who was born in 1911 and reached the age of 115, passed away on Thursday. Kagawa earned her medical degree in 1934, worked briefly in Osaka hospitals, and opened a clinic in Nara in 1937, where she continued to see patients into her eighties. Her death makes 114-year-old Fuyo Kishimoto of nearby Kyoto the new oldest resident of Japan. Kagawa was also the oldest torchbearer in the 2021 Tokyo Olympic relay.
Why it matters
The passing of Japan's longest-lived citizen marks the end of a notable medical career and shifts the title of oldest resident.
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