Yukichi Chuganji

Yukichi Chuganji - 114 years, 189 days, Japan
Yukichi Chuganji died in 2003. His validation is credited to Japanese gerontologist Yasuhiko Saito. There is no specific validation report and only a few biographical details are known about him and his family. It can be assumed that he was auto-validated after verifying his birth and death records using the Resident Registry System as documented in [46].

In 1889 at the time of his birth, the official records were not very reliable. There are also no mid-life records to support his continuous identity throughout life. As far as we know his validation was never double checked in any form. We think that the process used is inadequate to eliminate mistakes of a type that have already been identified for other Japanese claims. Given the high age claim, it is our opinion that a more in-depth validation needs to be performed before this case can be accepted.

It is correct that auto-validation has to take over at some point down the list of supercentenarians. Manual checking when done correctly is very time consuming, and at younger ages the probability of a false claim is reduced. However Chuganji is the second oldest Japanese man of all time. His case needs proper investigation.

About 20 years have passed since his validation so we have to assume that there is no present plan to review his longevity claim using more data. Indeed it may now be hard to gather the information necessary from any remaining family. We therefore suggest that this case should not be referenced for scientific applications where any level of certainty is required. This position could change if more information can be released.