breathe one’s last
世界最高齢の女性としてギネス世界記録保持者であった大川ミサオさん（１１７歳）が１日の朝、老衰のため亡くなりました。先月、１１７歳の誕生日を迎えたばかりでした。
The world’s oldest person, Misao Okawa, died in Japan on Wednesday, a month after celebrating her 117th birthday.
The nursing home where she lived in Osaka said she breathed her last around 7 a.m.
On the occasion of her birthday early last month, Okawa, a mother of three, grandmother of four and great-grandmother of six, was one of only a handful of people still alive who had been born in the 19th century.
Her birth on March 5, 1898 predated the Wright brothers’ first powered human flight by five years, she was already a teenager when World War I broke out and in her 70s by the time of the first moon landing.
When she turned 114, she was officially recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest woman in the globe.
Japan, known for the longevity of its people, is home to the world’s oldest man—Sakari Momoi, who celebrated his 112th birthday in February.
とりあげる表現は“breathe one’s last”です。記事の内容と“最後の息をする”という単語の流れから予想はつくと思います。辞書をみてみると「breathe[gasp] one’s last：息を引きとる、死ぬ」とありました。（『Wisdom英和辞典第３版』三省堂）
厚生労働省によると、今年の１００歳以上の高齢者は過去最多の５万８８２０人に上るようです。年々その人数は増加しており、厚労省は「医療技術の進歩や高齢者の健康状態の改善が影響している」と分析しています。大川さんが亡くなったことで、米国の１１６歳の女性が世界最高齢になりました。（野球小僧）
http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/worlds-oldest-person-dies-at-117-2
