Japan's oldest twin dies

Gin Kanie (right) and sister Kin were national celebrities

The last surviving sister of Japan's oldest twins has died, aged 108.

We could survive because we were twins - we need each other more than anyone else in the world

Twin Kin

Gin Kanie and her sister Kin Narita, who died last year, became media celebrities in their final decade, charming the Japanese public with their wit and lust for life.

Gin Kanie became bedridden last April, and died peacefully after she stopped taking food last weekend.

Doctors plan to perform an autopsy, if the family consents, to try and determine the secret of her long and healthy life.

"She possessed psychological and physical strengths that one cannot imagine a centenarian having," said one of her doctors.

Her sister Kin died of heart failure in January 2000.

Respect

Gin and Kin, whose names mean silver and gold in Japanese, were born on 1 August 1892 in Nagoya, 270km (170 miles) west of Tokyo.

The twins started travelling rather late, at the age of 102

The twins only became famous when they were 99, after the mayor of Nagoya visited them on Respect for the Aged Day.

The day is a national holiday in Japan, where life expectancy is the highest in the world, and older people command considerable respect.

The twins soon started to appear on television game shows and advertisements.

Their broad smiles and lively interest in the world around them endeared them to people in Japan and abroad.

Aged 102, they made their first trip abroad, visiting Taiwan, where they were greeted by more than 1,000 pairs of twins.

They joked that they were saving the money they earned from their media appearances "to provide for our old age".

Simple life

The twins said that the simplicity of their lives, their frequent walks and each other's company kept them healthy into their second century.

"We never thought we would live this long," said Kin on the twins' 100th birthday.

"We could survive because we were twins. We need each other more than anyone else in the world."

Gin Kanie is survived by four children, five grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.