Do you believe there is a “secret” to extending life? Or is life expectancy more random, determined largely by luck, fate or a “plan” ordained by a higher power?

In “At 119, She Was a Symbol of How to Live With Wit and Vitality,” the Times reporters Mike Ives, Hisako Ueno and Makiko Inoue write about Kane Tanaka, who, before she died last week in Japan at 119, was the world’s oldest person:

In September 2019, the mayor of Fukuoka, Japan, made a pilgrimage to see Kane Tanaka at her nursing home. She was 116 years old then and fielded questions from a gaggle of reporters with the cocky confidence of a prizefighter.

What, they asked, was the secret to living so long?

“Being myself,” she said.

Happiest moment?

“Now!”

Best diet for staying healthy?

“Appreciate anything I eat.” She had developed a taste for chocolate and Coca-Cola on an American military base and regularly consumed fizzy drinks for a half-century.

When Ms. Tanaka died last week at 119, not far from the now-shuttered base in the southern city of Fukuoka, she was the world’s oldest person and had lived seven years longer than the oldest American veteran of World War II.

In Japan, which has the world’s oldest population, Ms. Tanaka had become a symbol of how to age gracefully and fend off cancer and other ailments. Deep into her 12th decade, visitors found her to be not just alert, but vivacious and irrepressibly funny.

The reporters wrote of the end of Ms. Tanaka’s life:

Ms. Tanaka is survived by at least five grandchildren and at least eight great-grandchildren. Her husband, who had dementia, died of cancer in 1993 at 90. Their eldest son died in 2005, and their younger one, Tsuneo, died five years ago.

The oldest person in Japan is now Fusa Tatsumi, a woman who turned 115 on Monday, according to the Health Ministry. A 118-year-old nun who lives in France and is known as Sister André is now the world’s oldest person, said Yvonne Zhang, a spokeswoman for Guinness World Records.

When Fukuoka’s mayor, Soichiro Takashima, visited Ms. Tanaka in 2019, he asked how much longer she wanted to live. She replied that she hadn’t thought about it. “I don’t feel like I will die,” she said.

After she retired in her late 70s, Ms. Tanaka occupied herself by doing domestic chores and visiting relatives in Japan and the United States. She stayed sharp in part by reading newspapers, doing math problems and playing Othello and other board games.

“She hated losing,” her grandson said.

She was in and out of the hospital for months before her death. Even when she was ill, her grandson said, she would talk about wanting to eat chocolate or drink Coke or Oronamin C Drink, a Japanese soda.

Students, read the entire article, then tell us:

• Ms. Tanaka said the secret to living so long is “Being myself.” Do you think there is a “trick” to living a long, full life, such as having strong friendships, a spiritual or religious practice, engaging hobbies and passions, a healthy diet or a specific mind-set or disposition? Or is it simply good genetics? Is it a combination of these factors?

• According to the article, Ms. Tanaka kept her sharp wit in part by reading newspapers, doing math problems and playing board games. How conscious are you about how your actions today may affect you in old age? Do you do anything to keep your mind and health in top shape?

• Do you ever think about what your life might look like several decades down the road? Would you want to live well into your 100s like Ms. Tanaka? Why or why not?

• In the article, Shinichi Oshima, the president of the Japan Foundation for Aging and Health, said, “it’s important to build social systems in which elderly people are fully accepted and can carry out a prosperous life.” Do you think society respects its oldest citizens? Do we do all we can to care for them and help them thrive? If not, what could we do better?

• Do you spend a lot of time around older adults? How would you describe their lives and personalities? What do you think are their secrets to living so long?