The world's oldest man, a Japanese, dies at age 112

TOKYO — The world's oldest man, a Japanese, has died at the age of 112, two months short of his 113th birthday.

Yasutaro Koide was born on March 13, 1903, and said his secret to a long life was not to overdo it, or drink or smoke.

A native of Nagoya, Koide (pronounced "Koy-deh") worked as a tailor when he was younger. He became the world's oldest man in August.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said he died early Tuesday.

In Japan, 111-year-old Tokyo native Masamitsu Yoshida, born on May 30, 1904, succeeds Koide as the oldest man. It was not immediately known whether Yoshida is also the world's oldest male.

The world's oldest person is an American woman, 116-year-old Susannah Mushatt Jones of Brooklyn, New York.