Japan’s Booming Death Business: ENDEX, The End Of Life Exhibition
Japan’s rising death rate is good business for ENDEX: The End Of Life Exhibition. We discover that it’s more than just Hello Kitty urns!
By Jake Adelstein
By Jake Adelstein and Amy Yoshida-Plambeck
Japan has too many bodies to burn.
It’s all part of a new old Japan that has graduated from “the aging society” to “the many dying society.” There’s a buzz word — and sort of a buzz-kill word–that’s increasingly being bandied about here now–多死社会 (ta-shi-shakai). I suppose you could translate it as “high-mortality society,” or maybe “many dying community.” But the real meaning is closer to “a society where more people are dying than being born.”
The number of deaths in Japan reached a record high last year, with more than 1.56 million people passing away. As Japan’s death rate outstrips the number of new births, there’s an unexpected shortage of crematoriums — and a booming “end of life” business.
Due to this surge in deaths, a growing issue of “waiting for cremation” has emerged. 1 in 10 cities suffers a shortage now, according to an industry study. In some cases, families have to wait up to 12 days for a cremation slot…