One-hundred-and-eleven-year-old Japanese engineer Tomoji Tanabe was awarded official recognition Monday as the world's newest oldest man by the Guinness Book of World Records(GBWR).

A 111-year-old Japanese engineer born at the end of the century before last was awarded official recognition Monday as the world's newest oldest man, and joked he was sorry for still being alive.

Tomoji Tanabe, a teetotaller who has repeatedly said that avoiding alcohol was a secret of his longevity, was given a certificate from the Guinness Book of World Records by the mayor of his local municipality.

Tanabe, from Miyazaki prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu, was born on September 18, 1895 -- before Japan became a world player, Australia became independent or the Wright Brothers created the first plane.

"It is nothing special," he said, addingtongue-in-cheek, "I have lived too long. I am sorry."

With the recognition, Japan boasts having both the world's oldest man and the oldest woman -- Yone Minagawa, 114, who also lives in Kyushu.

To look after himself, Tanabe mainly eats vegetables and few greasy dishes, an official said.

He became the oldest male after his predecessor, Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico, died at the age of 115 on January 24.

Since then, the Guinness Book of World Records has investigated who should take the title as the oldest man on Earth and contacted Miyakonojo authorities earlier this month to verify Tanabe's birthdate.

More than 28,000 Japanese are at least 100 years old, most of them women, according to the government.

The Japanese people's renowned longevity is often attributed to eating the country's traditional healthy food, despite the hectic lifestyle many lead in the big cities.

But the longevity is also presenting a headache as the country has very low birthrate, spelling a future demographic crisis as a smaller pool of workers supports a mass of elderly.

本周一，一位于19世纪末出生的111岁的日本工程师被授予官方证书，成为世界上“最新的”寿命最长的老人。他开玩笑说，他很抱歉自己活了这么久。

滴酒不沾的田锅友时不断重申，其长寿的秘诀主要是不沾酒。他所在市的市长为他颁发了《吉尼斯世界纪录大全》授予他的证书。

来自九州岛南部宫崎县的田锅生于1895年9月18日。当时，日本在世界上还未占据一席之地，澳洲还未独立、莱特兄弟也还没有发明出第一架飞机。

田锅说：“这没什么特别的。”后来又半开玩笑地说，“我活得太久了，我很抱歉。”

田锅获得吉尼斯世界纪录的认证后，日本便同时拥有了全世界寿命最长的男性和女性，目前全世界寿命最长的女性是114岁的皆川米子，她也住在九州岛。

据一位官员介绍，田锅平时以吃蔬菜为主，很少吃油腻的菜。

波多黎各的115岁老人Emiliano Mercado del Toro今年1月24日去世后，田锅就成了世界上寿命最长的男性。

之后，吉尼斯世界纪录大全便开始调查谁可以接过这个头衔，他们于本月早些时候与宫崎县都城市有关部门取得联系，对田锅的出生日期进行了核实。

据日本政府统计数据，目前日本的百岁老人超过2万8千人，其中大多数是女性。

日本人以长寿著称，这常被归结于人们的饮食以日本传统的健康食品为主，尽管大城市里很多人生活得忙碌而紧张。

但“长寿”现象对于日本来说也是个头疼事。日本的出生率极低势必造成一小群劳动者养活很多老年人的局面，这将会导致未来出现人口危机。

Vocabulary:

tongue-in-cheek:不认真的；半开玩笑的