Longevity secrets of 100-year-old doctor who still sees patients 3 days a week

Doctor Teru Kasamatsu continues working three days a week at Kasamatsu Hospital in the city of Kainan. Founded in 1909, the hospital has been part of Kasamatsu's life for nearly 80 years.

Kasamatsu was born in 1925 in what is now Kinokawa City, Wakayama Prefecture, the fourth of five siblings.

She says her longevity comes down to diet and keeping the mind sharp. "Eat lots of vegetables, like spinach, broccoli, cabbage and okra. Eating vegetables helps keep blood sugar levels down, so it’s good," she told Yomiuri Shimbun.

She also shared some other secrets: before the pandemic she liked traveling with friends; she is careful to reduce salt in her diet and eats her vegetables first; and she does not dwell on things she cannot change.

"Things have worked out so far even without overthinking. I'll just take it easy," as reported by Wakayama Shimpo.

A screenshot photo from a report by Wakayama Telecasting Corporation shows doctor Teru Kasamatsu (L) receiving a gift from an official of Kainan to celebrate her longevity ahead of the Japan's Respect for the Aged Day, a public holiday celebrated annually, in 2024.

Kasamatsu chose to become a doctor during high school as her father, seeing many women lose their husbands during the war, urged her to learn a trade and be self-reliant.

She graduated in 1948 and married a surgeon, Shigeru, at age 24. When Shigeru took over Kasamatsu Hospital from his father, she began working there alongside her husband. The couple ran the hospital together while raising three children, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Kasamatsu recalls days when she saw as many as 120 patients, not counting sleepless nights assisting in emergency surgeries. She said she did everything, from examinations and writing prescriptions to bookkeeping. When the hospital needed a cook, she studied and obtained a cooking license in her 30s.

The hospital overlooking Wakayama Bay is now headed by her son, Dr. Satoshi, 68, who says his mother is "good at creating an atmosphere where it's easy to talk" that helps patients open up, Yomiuri Shimbun reported.

Despite her busy life, and a period of hospitalization for cancer, Kasamatsu continued to live energetically.

She started learning to play the piano with her husband at the age of 70, and continues to play to this day, according to Yomiuri Shimbun.

After her husband's death, she has lived alone in a house next to the hospital and still gets around without a cane. Her daily routine includes spending one to two hours on number puzzles to help prevent dementia. In her spare time, she reads medical literature to stay up to date. She says she has no intention of retiring, according to Wakayama Shimpo.

The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan reached 99,763 as of September, extending a 55-year streak of increases to a record high, Japan's Ministry of Health announced on Sept. 12.

Women account for 88% of Japan's nearly 100,000 centenarians. The oldest is Shigeko Kagawa, 114, from the outskirts of Nara City. The oldest man is Kiyotaka Mizuno, 111, from the coastal city of Iwata.

According to the ministry, as of the end of 2022, there were about 340,000 practicing physicians nationwide, including 86 who were 98 or older.