According to Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare statistics, the number of deaths in Japan in 2001 was approximately 970,000. By 2038, this number is expected to rise to approximately 1.7 million people. Japan, which entered an aging society before the rest of the world, is now developing into a "death-prone" society.
Japanese society has a sharp population decline
What is a society with many deaths?
A multi-death society refers to the social form after an aging society. The elderly make up the majority of the population. This group of people will die naturally at an age when they are more likely to die, leading to a sharp decrease in the total population.
As of October 1, 2015, people over 65 years old accounted for 26% of the total population in Japan.
By 2060, people over 65 years old in Japan will account for 39.9% of the total population, and 1 in every 2.5 people will be an elderly person.
Generally speaking, if the death rate remains unchanged and the total special birth rate can be increased, the total population will continue to increase in the future, and vice versa. As long as the total special birth rate can remain at 2, the total population can remain stable. However, since 1975, Japan's total special birth rate has been below 2, and in 2005 it fell to a record low of 1.26. Various data show that the population of Japanese society is declining sharply.
ps: The average number of children per woman in her lifetime totaling the specific productivity.
Even if the birth rate remains unchanged, the mortality rate Japan will face in the future will cause cities with a population of 500,000 to disappear one by one. Even cities with a population of 1 million are in danger.
The supply of crematoria exceeds the demand
As Japan enters a "death-prone society", the supply of crematoria exceeds the demand.
Take Tokyo as an example. About 110,000 people died in Tokyo in 2013. On average, about 300 people died every day. However, there are only a dozen crematoriums in Tokyo.
Each crematorium is capable of holding the cremation of at most 20 deceased people, and each cremation takes about 3 hours. In addition, the furnace in the crematorium can only be used 3 or 4 times a day. Even if cremations are held every day without interruption, the problem of insufficient crematoriums will not be solved.
The shortage of crematoriums has led to many problems.
The first point is the funeral of "refugees".
Funerals cannot be held in time after the death of a relative. People who want to hold a funeral have to wait an average of one week, and it is not uncommon in densely populated cities to wait for 10 days. (Cremation requires a number...)
The second point is the emotional breakdown and physical discomfort caused by the long waiting period or the inability to calm down with the remains of relatives.
We have to mention the funeral process in Japan. From wiping the body, applying makeup, changing clothes, etc. after the death of a relative, to preparing for the funeral, placing the body in the coffin, vigil, farewell ceremony, and then to cremation and placement of the ashes, the entire process takes at least 2 or 3 days. However, if cremation cannot be carried out in time, the whole process will take longer. Relatives will have to spend a lot of money and energy to arrange funeral-related matters and receive guests while they are grieving.
The third point is the fraud incident of the funeral contracting company.
Regular crematoriums are in short supply. In order to avoid trouble, many Japanese people will find small funeral contracting companies to hold simple one-day funerals. However, most of these companies are scam companies.
Some people charge high funeral fees and do not follow the pre-explained procedures at all. Some not only charge high funeral fees, but also add other high related expenses after the funeral. So-called "black-hearted" companies are nothing more than that.
Remains Hotel
In order to queue up for cremation, it is unrealistic to always leave the body at home, not to mention that many apartments do not allow the body to be placed. So, where should the body be placed? This is a more urgent and realistic issue for the relatives of the deceased.
In order to solve this problem, "corpse hotels" appeared one after another in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Osaka .
This kind of corpse hotel can be responsible for the transportation, placement, wake, and farewell ceremony of the remains. They can also handle the storage and placement of the remains until cremation.If
is responsible for the entire funeral process, it will cost about 450,000 yen. If the wake and farewell ceremony are omitted, the cost will only be about 200,000 yen. Generally speaking, the cost of an ordinary funeral of 2 million yen (nearly 250,000 yuan) is considered very small in Japan. In comparison, the price of this kind of corpse hotel is obviously very attractive. In addition, relatives of the remains can also stay.
Japan's first corpse hotel appeared in Yokohama , named "LASTEL Kuboyama". The hotel is equipped with small buses to transport the remains for the family members. After arriving at the hotel, the remains are stored in the cold room. The family members only need to swipe the room card and store them in the cold room. The body in the room will be automatically transported to the interview room, and the body can be visited at any time 24 hours a day. Simply placing the remains will cost 12,600 yen per night.
Voices about corpse hotels
Area residents have launched protests and opposition movements against this type of corpse hotel.
"As soon as I saw the car arriving at the hotel, I would think that the body was being transported again? I was mentally disturbed."
"I was worried about the smell."
"Just thinking about the body nearby makes me feel sick. Although it is a necessary facility, it is still I hope you can consider the location. "
" is worried about the hygiene of the environment. "
Of course, some people understand.
"Maybe I don't know when the people around me have left. I don't have any disgust with the body."
"I come from the countryside of Fukuoka. When my father passed away, there was no waiting room at the funeral, so I was alone with my father at the time. The body will not feel uncomfortable if it is left overnight.”
In addition to body hotels, in order to solve the problem of insufficient crematoriums, some people in Japan have also proposed the idea of holding cremations on ships.
believes that holding cremations on ships can not only solve the problem of insufficient crematoriums, but also reduce the construction costs of crematoriums. The remaining cremation facilities can be reorganized and recycled. In addition, new forms of cremation may change everyone's dark impression of crematoriums.
As Japan enters a society with many deaths, the problem of insufficient crematoriums will become the tip of the iceberg, and Japan will face more serious social problems. What other problems do you think will arise in Japan? Welcome.
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