In our marriage, my Japanese wife and I have met and resolved oodles of cultural issues, but one fairly thorny matter remains . . . how to face that ultimate marital crisis: death.
My wife insists she wants to die in Japan and be cremated just like a typical Japanese. As for me, I am leaning heavily toward not dying at all and instead moving to Maui. She tells me this is impractical and that I have to face facts like the big, bald boy I have become. But the fact is I have never been to Maui, and as for death, there is no fact I would rather face less.
Underlying our discussion is our unspoken agreement that -- after living all of our working life in Japan -- we will eventually retire in America. A compromise based as much on our bleak bank accounts as our sense of fairness. Yet . . .