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Some local governments struggle to obtain land for crematoriums and consent from local residents, who feel uncomfortable about having a place of death in their midst.

21 Comments

Takeda Itaru, representative director of the Association of Research Initiatives for Cremation, Funeral, and Cemetery Studies. The funeral industry and municipal governments are struggling to cope with the rising pace of deaths due to a shortage of crematoriums and storage facilities for bodies.

© NHK

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21 Comments
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I would think a crematorium is one of the places where location is not specially important, so even if it has to be located in a relatively deserted location it would still be functional and only slightly inconvenient. It is not like people would be repeatedly visiting the place.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I would think a crematorium is one of the places where location is not specially important,

Location is especially important.

Think about it.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Location is especially important.

Under what arguments? do you think this is a place that people would be visiting repeatedly in their daily lives? a place where they would be spending a lot of time?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Liquid cremations and other nonburning methods. But the Japanese need to collect the bones of their deceased loved ones. We currently have two urns of bones of deceased loved ones. Very heavy. Crematoriums tend to be in the mountain areas. But they could also be in an underground area.

Containers can be used for storing those waiting for cremations.

There are people who seem to attend a funeral weekly so personal circumstances are a part.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Location is especially important.

Under what arguments?

Under the argument that I'd be choked if they put a moratorium next door to my home.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Err, crematorium

0 ( +1 / -1 )

A bunch of very elderly people don't want to be reminded that their time is getting shorter. I say open shop, and charge a convenience tax. Stop listening and playing to the people that contribute the least to society. I'm not saying leave them. Of course, take care of them for the long life they worked and contributed, but their voice for the future should be muffled or muted. Think about the kids and their tomorrow.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Under the argument that I'd be choked if they put a moratorium next door to my home.

The point is that there is no need to do that, for a crematorium there is no need to put it close to anybody's home like can be the case for hospitals, schools, etc. Since location is not really important it can just be put in an area without people that feel unconformable with it.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Japanese cremations 60-90 minutes at 500ºC to 600ºC.

Western cremations 2-3 hours at 1,000ºC to 1,300ºC.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Bofington

Stop listening and playing to the people that contribute the least to society.

They have contributed the most by working 40-50 years.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

@Wallace

But the Japanese need to collect the bones of their deceased loved ones. 

No, they "want" to collect. There is no necessity to this practice at all. It's not like the person is going to come back to life and reprimand them.

Once a person is dead, their body is pointless, get rid of it.

Remember the person's life, their achievements, their love and happiness; not the sorrow of their death.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I'll tell you what.You get good quality izakayas and restaurants nearby if you have a cream in your area.

Plus it's only about 2000 yen to attend a funeral,and you get a quality goodie bag;rather than more than 30,000 yen to go to a wedding.

Think about the fringe benefits.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Crem -crematorium.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

No, that’s not true, in fact they limitless love it, everything about the topic death and funerals attracts them at maximum. Every store sells formal dresses and suits, all domestic TV dramas contains such death or funeral scenes, every news when someone famous has died is widely broadcast, even international state funerals are created artificially and all such, of course only on top of the usual high doses of anniversaries remembering war, atomic bomb victims or big natural disasters etc. They would feel really uncomfortable if there would be a new birth clinic, a loud and vivid toddler nursery, kindergarten or elementary school built amidst them. Places of life, so to say, that’s what really scares and leads to uncomfortable feelings or lawsuits.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Location is especially important.

Under what arguments? do you think this is a place that people would be visiting repeatedly in their daily lives? a place where they would be spending a lot of time?

Hmm, this one doesn't take much thought.

Anyone want a crematorium next door to the outside public pool where one visits repeatedly?

Or favorite restaurant where one visits repeatedly?

Or summer retreat where one spends a lot of time?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Anyone want a crematorium next door to the outside public pool where one visits repeatedly?

I don't think it's a big deal. The first crematorium I went to in Japan was in a fairly central location in Sakai city, Osaka.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hmm, this one doesn't take much thought.

It did take at least more than you gave, the argument is that there is absolutely no need for the crematorium to be in any populated place, so every situation you give as an example could be prevented without problems, the location is not important for the crematorium so it can be located where nobody goes.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The one in my town is at the edge of town, up in the hills. All of the local mortuaries use it. It has 12 ovens. And, most of them were firing when I was there. It was quite an operation.

The thing that threw me was when they wheeled out the cremated remains for the family to view. I wasn't expecting the deceased's almost intact skeleton to be lying there, surrounded by some ash, instead of just a nondescript pile of ash.

The ceremony where the attendant explains the various bones, and then has everyone place the bones into a box using chopsticks was totally unexpected, and not very pleasant for me. Even some family members who never experienced it before seemed adversely affected. I realize there are different cultures and traditions in the world. But, it still struck me as a strange and macabre thing to do.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Crematoriums cannot be just in the middle of nowhere. People need to travel to attend the cremation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

garypen

I have two urns of bones, very heavy. My SIL and BIL.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Funeral companies will charge more to travel to a distant crematorium.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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