A nonprofit organization in the city of Fukuoka is offering funeral services arranged by members due to a surge in the number of people living alone.
People living alone after the deaths of their partners and whose children live far away are conspicuous at meetings held by Jiso-kai (Society to Consider Own Funerals).
In 2006, four years after the nonprofit organization was established, its representative, Shigeru Kobayakawa, 71, was shocked to hear a woman say: "There should be no funeral because I am alone. I don't want my remains to be handled by others."
Kobayakawa formed the group so people living alone who have no one to send them off can talk together by phone once a week.