Jiroemon Kimura, the world's oldest man in history, has passed away on Tuesday due to complication from pneumonia. He was 116 years old.

According to the Irish Times, Kimura has been hospitalised over the last couple of months in Kyotango, a town near Kyoto in Western Japan.

On December 17, 2012, the Guinness World Records announced Kimura as the world's oldest person after a woman from Iowa died at 115 years old.

Kimura also became the first man to reach 116 years old, surpassing the record set by Californian Christian Mortensen, who died at the age of 115 years and 252 days in 1998.

France's Jeanne Calment still holds the title as the oldest woman and person ever recorded in history after she died at the age of 122 in 1997.

Kimura, who worked as a farmer and postal officer, said the secret to his long life is his propensity to go out in the sunlight.

"I am always looking up towards the sky. That is how I am," Kimura said on his 115th birthday, according to the Irish Times.

With Kimura's death, Japanese Misao Okawa becomes the world's oldest person, according to Los Angeles-based Genealogy Research Group. She was born on March 5, 1898.