107-year-old Sisters from Japan Become Oldest Twins
2021-09-22
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1Guinness World Records has confirmed two Japanese sisters as the world's oldest living identical twins at 107.
2Identical twins are two people born at the same time who are produced from a single egg and look almost exactly the same.
3The announcement came Monday.
4It took place on Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday in Japan.
5Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama were born on Shodoshima island in western Japan on November 5, 1913.
6The twins were separated after elementary school.
7Kodama was sent to work as a maid in Oita on Japan's southern island of Kyushu.
8She later married there.
9Sumiyama remained on Shodoshima island and had her own family.
10The sisters said they experienced difficulties in their younger days.
11Growing up, they said they were bullied because of prejudice against children of multiple births in Japan.
12The sisters lived their own lives for many years.
13They rarely got together until they were 70.
14They then started taking trips together to some of the 88 Shikoku temples. They enjoyed being reconnected.
15Sumiyama and Kodama were 107 years and 300 days old as of Sept 1.
16They have broken the earlier record set by the famous Japanese sisters Kin Narita and Gin Kanie, who lived until they were 107 years and 175 days old.
17Guinness World Records announced the new record in a statement.
18Because of anti-coronavirus measures, the certificates for their record were mailed to the separate nursing homes where they now live.
19Guinness said Sumiyama accepted hers with tears of happiness.
20Their families told Guinness that the sisters often joked about outliving the earlier record holders, known as "Kin-san, Gin-san."
21Those twins became extremely popular in Japan in the late 1990s for both their age and humor.
22Japan has the world's fastest aging population.
23The health and welfare ministry says about 29 percent of Japan's 125 million people are 65 years or older.
24About 86,510 of them are 100 years or older.
25I'm Mario Ritter Jr.
1Guinness World Records has confirmed two Japanese sisters as the world's oldest living identical twins at 107. 2Identical twins are two people born at the same time who are produced from a single egg and look almost exactly the same. 3The announcement came Monday. It took place on Respect for the Aged Day, a national holiday in Japan. 4Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama were born on Shodoshima island in western Japan on November 5, 1913. 5The twins were separated after elementary school. Kodama was sent to work as a maid in Oita on Japan's southern island of Kyushu. She later married there. Sumiyama remained on Shodoshima island and had her own family. 6The sisters said they experienced difficulties in their younger days. Growing up, they said they were bullied because of prejudice against children of multiple births in Japan. 7The sisters lived their own lives for many years. They rarely got together until they were 70. They then started taking trips together to some of the 88 Shikoku temples. They enjoyed being reconnected. 8Sumiyama and Kodama were 107 years and 300 days old as of Sept 1. They have broken the earlier record set by the famous Japanese sisters Kin Narita and Gin Kanie, who lived until they were 107 years and 175 days old. 9Guinness World Records announced the new record in a statement. 10Because of anti-coronavirus measures, the certificates for their record were mailed to the separate nursing homes where they now live. Guinness said Sumiyama accepted hers with tears of happiness. 11Their families told Guinness that the sisters often joked about outliving the earlier record holders, known as "Kin-san, Gin-san." Those twins became extremely popular in Japan in the late 1990s for both their age and humor. 12Japan has the world's fastest aging population. The health and welfare ministry says about 29 percent of Japan's 125 million people are 65 years or older. About 86,510 of them are 100 years or older. 13I'm Mario Ritter Jr. 14Mari Yamaguchi reported this story for the Associated Press. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor. 15__________________________________________________ 16Words in This Story 17bullied -adj. to have been frightened, hurt or threatened by someone stronger 18prejudice -n. an unfair feeling of dislike for a person or group because of race, sex, religion or some other reason 19temple -n. a building for worship or religious observance 20certificate -n. a document that is official proof that something happened or has been done 21We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.