TOKYO, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- Okagi Hayashi, a 115-year-old woman in central Japan's Gifu Prefecture, has become the country's oldest person following the recent death of the previous title holder, the government said Monday.

Born on Sept. 2, 1909, Hayashi became the oldest living person in Japan after Tomiko Itooka, who lived to the age of 116, died of old age on Dec. 29 at a nursing home in Ashiya, Hyogo prefecture, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

Itooka was recognized as the world's oldest person at the time of her death. ■