Guinness World Records has officially recognised a 108-year-old Japanese woman as the world’s oldest professional barber.

By Staff Reporter

Shitsui Hakoishi, who turns 109 this year, says she plans to retire when she turns 110, saying she can no longer take as many customers as before because of knee pain.

After earning her licence in Tokyo in 1936, she opened a shop with her husband, but was evacuated to her hometown of Nakagawa after it was destroyed in an air raid.

Jiro was conscripted, and when he didn’t return from the war, she set up a small shop at her home while raising their two children.

As neighbours and regular customers celebrated her achievement, Hakoishi attributed her longevity to her good genes and her daily exercise regime which she started when she was 70.

In 2021, she was a torchbearer in the Tokyo Olympics torch relay.