Hasegawa died of natural causes at 8.28am on 2 December 2011, just 12 days after celebrating her 115th birthday, and was succeeded as the oldest living Japanese person by Jiroemon Kimura, and as the oldest living Japanese woman by Koto Okubo. Hasegawa, Kimura and Okubo were the first three Japanese persons who became 115 years old after 116-year-old Tane Ikai's death in July 1995.