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Kicker - A world record times two

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WORLD Radio - Kicker - A world record times two

Japanese twins share an old-age honor


This combination of two undated photos released by Guinness World Records on Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021, show sisters Umeno Sumiyama, left, and Koume Kodama at separate nursing homes in Shodoshima island, left, and Oita prefecture, Japan. Guinness World Records via Associated Press

PAUL BUTLER, HOST: It took two Japanese sisters a very long time to break this particular world record, but they finally did it!

Umeno Sumiyama and Koume Kodama received their Guinness World Records certificates on Tuesday.

Sumiyama and Kodama are identical twins. Having two girls in one family was somewhat rare in Japan when they were young. And the sisters recall being bullied because of prejudice against children of multiple births in Japan. They were the third and fourth of 11 siblings.

But the two remained close, and in recent years, they began to think they might just have a shot at the record they just broke.

And it only took them 107 years to break it.

Sumiyama and Kodama are now the world’s oldest twins—107 years, 321 days, to be exact.

Due to anti-coronavirus measures, the sisters received their certificates by mail at their separate nursing homes. Guinness reports that Sumiyama accepted hers with tears of happiness.

It’s The World and Everything in It.


WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.

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