70-year-old Japanese scales Everest

A mountaineering company said a 70-year-old Japanese man on Wednesday became the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain.

A mountaineering company said a 70-year-old Japanese man on Wednesday became the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, the world's tallest mountain. However, Guinness World Records said it couldn't immediately confirm the claim.

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Takao Arayama, age 70 years, 7 months and 13 days, was the oldest person ever to scale the 8,850-meter (29,035-foot) peak, according to Toshinori Koya, who heads Tokyo-based company Adventure Guides, which planned the climb.

The Guinness World Records Web site says the record has been held by another Japanese, Yuichiro Miura, who reached the famed peak at the age of 70 years, 7 months and 10 days, on May 22, 2003. Arayama, who climbed the mountain as part of a five-member team, reached the summit at 10.45am local time (0500 GMT) on Wednesday morning, Koya said.