On December 17, with the death of 115-year-old Dina Manfredini in the United States, Mr Kimura became the world’s oldest living person – and two weeks later, on December 28, he passed the record set in 1998 by California’s Christian Mortensen to become the longest-lived man in recorded history.
Mr Kimura was born on April 19 in 1897 – the year that Queen Victoria celebrated her Diamond Jubilee, and the 30th year of the Meiji era in Japan.
He was six when the Wright Brothers flew their first plane, and already in his mid-60s when Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space.
Mr Kimura celebrated his 115th birthday this year with his family in Kyoto Prefecture: including five children, 14 grandchildren, 25 great grandchildren and 13 great great grandchildren.
The former post office worker credits his longevity to getting plenty of sunlight, and his efforts to keep his mind active: he has recently been studying to speak English.
Record-keepers have confirmed that Mr Kimura is one of only three men ever to reach the age of 115, and is the first Asian man to do so.
His family say his birthday is actually in March, making him even older than his official age – but the date was mistaken reported as April by a local government official in 1955.
Four of his five brothers and sister lived to be more than 90 years-old, and his youngest brother Tetsuo, died at the age of 100.
Along with Japanese woman Koto Okubo, who turned 115 on December 24, Mr Kimura is one of the last two surviving people born in the year 1897.
Both are among 22 Japanese people on a list of the oldest 64 people in the world – a fact that highlights the demographic challenges faced by Japan as its population rapidly ages.