Masazo Nonaka, who was recognized by Guinness World Records last year as the oldest living man, died Sunday at the age of 113, his family said.
Nonaka, born in the town of Ashoro, Hokkaido, on July 25, 1905 — when Albert Einstein published his theory of relativity — died in the early morning at his home there, his family said.
"We feel shocked at the loss of this big figure. He was as usual yesterday and passed away without causing our family any fuss at all," his granddaughter Yuko Nonaka said.
Japan is one of the world's top countries for longevity. The record for oldest man ever is also held by a Japanese: Jiroemon Kimura, who died on June 12, 2013, after 116 years and 54 days, according to Guinness World Records.
Nonaka was confirmed the oldest living man last April 10.
Nonaka lived at home in Ashoro with his family. The place where he lived was a hot spring inn that he used to run, which was also more than 100 years old.
He used a wheelchair but basically did what he could by himself every day. He enjoyed eating something sweet after a meal, watching TV, reading newspapers and soaking in the hot spring bath once a week in recent years, according to his family.
His wife, with whom Nonaka had two sons and three daughters, died in 1992.
According to Guinness, the oldest person ever to have lived is Jeanne Calment, a French woman, who died in 1997 at the age of 122 years and 164 days.
