#SHORTS - WORLD'S OLDEST PROGRAMMER | AN INSPIRATION | MASAKO WAKAMIYA | HINADAN | InterviewDOT
Channel: Interview DOT
Date: 2022-03-18

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#SHORTS - WORLD'S OLDEST PROGRAMMER | AN INSPIRATION | MASAKO WAKAMIYA | HINADAN | InterviewDOT

World's oldest programmer attends Global Programmers’ Festival

The 2nd Global Programmers' Festival has opened in the Xi'an High-tech Industries Development Zone, attracting numerous programmers from home and abroad.

Masako Wakamiya, at 83 the world's oldest programmer as well as an iOS developer, is attending the two-day event.

Wakamiya was born in 1936 in Toyko, Japan and worked as a bank clerk before retirement. She bought her first computer and started to learn programming after she retired at the age of 60.

In February 2017, the first game (Hinadan) Wakamiya developed was put on the App Store in Japan, and has been downloaded more than 42,000 times so far.

The game aims at users over the age of 60, and is inspired by the traditional Japanese Doll Festival. Its rules are similar to the festival tradition.

Wakamiya attended the Apple Global Developers Conference 'WWDC 2017', as the world's eldest programmer, receiving worldwide attention in June, 2017.

Masako Wakamiya, the world's oldest programmer

TOKYO -- Masako Wakamiya obtained her first personal computer at age 58, just ahead of her retirement from a bank. Little did she know that she was beginning a journey that would make her the world's oldest known iPhone app developer, at 81.

Meet the 84-year-old Japanese app developer who inspired Tim Cook

TOKYO -- Masako Wakamiya obtained her first personal computer at age 58, just ahead of her retirement from a bank. Little did she know that she was beginning a journey that would make her the world's oldest known iPhone app developer, at 81.

Now 84, Wakamiya calls herself an IT evangelist and encourages other seniors to use digital technology to enrich their lives. She writes books while spreading her message on the lecture circuit in Japan and abroad. Recently, she sat down with Nikkei to tell her story -- from that first PC to talking shop with Apple CEO Tim Cook -- and explain why we're never too old to learn something new.

"Few households had computers back then, but the PC seemed interesting to me. I taught myself how to use it. At the time, my mother needed nursing care, so I was constantly looking after her. There were days when I could not go out at all. But the PC took me into a wider world.

"Twenty years ago, I became a promoter of the Mellow Club, a website for exchanges between seniors. Now I'm the vice chair. When I joined the club's predecessor, I received a welcome message, which said: 'Life will become more and more interesting when you are past 60. What you have accumulated in your mind until then will blossom. When you are past 70, you will have a fuller life.'

"After some time, someone at Apple's Japanese subsidiary contacted me. About a month later, the person suggested, 'Let's go to the U.S. together.' I refused at first, but the person stressed that somebody really wanted to meet me. 'Who is it?' I asked.

"'It's CEO Tim Cook.'

"I did not want to be rude, so I went."

Wakamiya was invited to Apple's annual Worldwide Developers Conference. Traveling was nothing new for her -- she says she has visited more than 60 countries, and likes to go alone -- but meeting the chief of one of the world's biggest tech companies was certainly out of the ordinary. She met Cook the day before the event in San Jose, California.

"I thought we would just say 'How do you do?' and exchange greetings, but he said we should talk and have a look at my iPhone. I was bewildered. Other people were just watching us from a distance.

"I explained my app. 'Since senior citizens are not good at swiping,' I said, 'I made it possible for them to play by tapping.'

"The CEO asked about the font size. I noted that 'since the iPhone screen is small, the balance between the text and the pattern would be lost' with larger characters. We also talked about adapting the app for the iPad and its different aspect ratio. It was as if we were chatting in a programming class.

"The CEO said he found me 'inspiring,' and as we parted he surprised me with a hug.

"At the conference the next day, Cook introduced me as the world's oldest programmer. Then a 10-year-old boy from Australia came onto the stage with me. They wanted to highlight the diversity of app developers, I suppose. There was diversity in race, gender and so on, but I am sure that an old woman in her 80s was a big discovery."

"At first, when I would post messages, other members would criticize them. People would say things like, 'You have no manners,' or, 'You should not write such a thing here.' But at this stage of life, even being reproached is precious. I tell people that nothing comes too late in life."