A 96-year-old Japanese man said he is excited at the prospect of breaking more records after being recognized as the world’s oldest university graduate with his degree in ceramic arts.
Spritely senior Shigemi Hirata received his Guinness World Records certificate on Friday after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kyoto University of Art and Design earlier this year, local media reported yesterday.
Born on a farm in Hiroshima in 1919 — the year the Allies and Germany signed the Treaty of Versailles — Hirata is something of a celebrity on campus.
“Students whose name I do not even know call out to greet me,” he told Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun. “That gives me a lot of energy.”
Hirata, who took 11 years to complete his ceramic arts course after taking up pottery as a pensioner, said he is not done setting records.
“My goal is to live until I am 100,” he said. “If I am fit enough, it might be rather fun to go to graduate school.”
Hirata, who served in the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II and has four great-grandchildren, added: “I am so happy. At my age, it is fun to be able to learn new things.”
Japan’s perky pensioners regularly set eye-popping records, as the silver-haired generation enjoy longer and healthier lives.
Last year, 100-year-old Mieko Nagaoka became the world’s first centenarian to complete a 1,500m freestyle swim, 20 years after she took up the sport.
Many elderly Japanese remain physically active long after other people have given up the ghost.
Twinkle-toed sprinter Hidekichi Miyazaki, dubbed “Golden Bolt” after Jamaican superstar Usain Bolt, also set a world record last year, clocking 42.22 seconds for the 100m in the over-105 category a day after reaching the milestone age.
There were nearly 59,000 centenarians in Japan last year, according to government figures — which means 46 out of every 100,000 people is aged 100 or older.
BEYOND WASHINGTON: Although historically the US has been the partner of choice for military exercises, Jakarta has been trying to diversify its partners, an analyst said Indonesia’s first joint military drills with Russia this week signal that new Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto would seek a bigger role for Jakarta on the world stage as part of a significant foreign policy shift, analysts said. Indonesia has long maintained a neutral foreign policy and refuses to take sides in the Russia-Ukraine conflict or US-China rivalry, but Prabowo has called for stronger ties with Moscow despite Western pressure on Jakarta. “It is part of a broader agenda to elevate ties with whomever it may be, regardless of their geopolitical bloc, as long as there is a benefit for Indonesia,” said Pieter
US ELECTION: Polls show that the result is likely to be historically tight. However, a recent Iowa poll showed Harris winning the state that Trump won in 2016 and 2020 US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris courted voters angered by the Gaza war while former US President and Republican candidate Donald Trump doubled down on violent rhetoric with a comment about journalists being shot as the tense US election campaign entered its final hours. The Democratic vice president and the Republican former president frantically blitzed several swing states as they tried to win over the last holdouts with less than 36 hours left until polls open on election day today. Trump predicted a “landslide,” while Harris told a raucous rally in must-win Michigan that “we have momentum — it’s
‘SHARP COMPETITION’: Australia is to partner with US-based Lockheed Martin to make guided multiple launch rocket systems, an Australian defense official said Australia is to ramp up missile manufacturing under a plan unveiled yesterday by a top defense official, who said bolstering weapons stockpiles would help keep would-be foes at bay. Australian Minister for Defence Industry Pat Conroy said the nation would establish a homegrown industry to produce long-range guided missiles and other much-needed munitions. “Why do we need more missiles? Strategic competition between the United States and China is a primary feature of Australia’s security environment,” Conroy said in a speech. “That competition is at its sharpest in our region, the Indo-Pacific.” Australia is to partner with US-based weapons giant Lockheed Martin to make
TIGHT CAMPAIGN: Although Harris got a boost from an Iowa poll, neither candidate had a margin greater than three points in any of the US’ seven battleground states US Vice President Kamala Harris made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) in the final days before the election, as she and former US president and Republican presidential nominees make a frantic last push to win over voters in a historically close campaign. The first lines Harris spoke as she sat across from Maya Rudolph, their outfits identical, was drowned out by cheers from the audience. “It is nice to see you Kamala,” Harris told Rudolph with a broad grin she kept throughout the sketch. “And I’m just here to remind you, you got this.” In sync, the two said supporters