Funerals

Life May 1, 2022

QR codes and cranes: Japan embraces modern cemeteries

by Hiroshi Hiyama

More and more people are breaking with traditions on burial and mourning by swapping hometown graveyards for gleaming automated facilities.

Our Lives | TELLING LIVES Jun 16, 2019

'You're empathetic, but there's that distance': A German undertaker in Japan

by J.J. O'Donoghue

As Japanese mourners file into the funeral parlor, shrouded in silence and laden with flowers, Felix Steinkemper, dressed in a dark suit, stands ready to assist. It's a scene the 30-year-old German undertaker has witnessed hundreds of times: the open casket, the quiet sobbing, the ...

National / Media | BIG IN JAPAN Dec 1, 2018

Magazines explore the inevitability of death and taxes

by Mark Schreiber

From this week, beneath the glitter of tinsel and glimmer of outdoor seasonal illumination, the bonenkai (year-end party) season begins in earnest. Amidst these distractions, however, one comes away with the impression that the magazines are devoting more pages to health advisories for staying alive ...

Business Feb 14, 2018

Colorado closes funeral biz run by body parts broker after cremated remains turn out to be concrete

Colorado officials indefinitely shut down the funeral home and crematory this week of a woman who runs a side business selling donated body parts from the same building. In its order, issued Monday, the state's Office of Funeral Home and Crematory Registration suspended operations at ...

National Dec 16, 2017

Nagano drive-thru funeral home to serve mourners with limited mobility

A funeral home with a drive-thru window will open in Nagano Prefecture on Sunday, allowing mourners to pay their respects without getting out of the car. The operator of the Aishoden funeral home in Ueda said the service is the first of its kind in ...

Business / Tech Sep 5, 2017

Drive-thru funeral service will let Japanese bid an easy and fast last farewell

by Alex K.T. Martin

In a first for Japan, a funeral home operator in Nagano Prefecture will be offering a drive-thru service allowing the bereaved to give their final farewells without having to get out of their car. Kankon Sousai Aichi Group, based in Ueda, central Nagano, plans to ...

National Aug 24, 2017

Drop-dead beautiful: Japan undertakers show their skill on preparing bodies for the 'other world'

A 23-year-old undertaker won a contest at Japan's biggest funeral expo on Thursday that tested ancient skills in the ritual dressing of the dead. "I practiced every day to prepare for this competition," said a smiling Rino Terai after defeating three other finalists. "I took videos ...

National / Social Issues Jun 29, 2017

A decade after pivotal legal battle, embalming on rise as Japanese seek dignity for the dead

by Hidetoshi Takada

A documentary television program and the death of a number of close friends led Takashi Uya to find his calling in life — to give Japanese dignity in death. Uya, 40, saw three of his close friends die while he was still in his teens ...

Business / Corporate Mar 28, 2017

Mitsuoka Motor releases classic hearse in Taiwan for 'ultimate final ride'

Mitsuoka Motor Co.'s luxury classic hearse is now available in Taiwan, after the island was chosen as its first export destination. The automaker believes the design of the Mitsuoka Limousine Type V, with its large radiator grill and round headlights, will provide a rare and ...

National / Social Issues Apr 26, 2016

Undertaker working for child survivors of Tohoku tsunami

by Megumi Yamaguchi

Ruiko Sasahara can never forget the sight of a little girl lying in a morgue after the tsunami five years ago. The 43-year-old mother of two is a nokanshi (undertaker) from Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture. She prepares corpses for cremation. Sasahara was confident she could restore the ...