Bury? Cremate? Ship body home? WHAT??

I was wondering what happens when a person dies in Japan in todays time. I'm wondering about foreigners dying while in Japan especially , but also Japanese. Do they bury people in the cemeteries anymore with land shortage being an issue? Are most people cremated now? Are the ashes still kept in the family home?
How about foreigners that live in Japan and have no family back in their home country. Is there a place for them to be buried or for their ashes if they have no Japanese families to take care of the body? I assume foreigners that are married to Japanese citizens will have their funeral arrangements made by their Japanse survivors? What if the foreigners family "demands" their loved ones body back; would the Japanese wife or husband have the say in what happens to their spouse's body?
I imagine religious views come into handling of the person's body after death?

Uncle Frank

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I think the common approach is to cremate the body, then enshrine the ashes in a family grave (an urn takes up much less space than a full coffin). Different religions do dictate different burial methods, so it's up to the discretion of the family (though there does seem to be several standard practices that mostly come from a Shinto background). I remember walking by the "foreigners' cemetary" in Yokohama, in which expats have been buried since the sakoku period ended (according to Christian rites, I'd imagine).

Can't speak to the other situations you've described.

oh, for an interesting look into a custom I didn't know about before (not sure how prevalent this is either), the movie "Departures" is a great film to watch.

I think if you die in Japan, even as a foreigner, they will allow you to stay forever in Japan and stay in the cemetery for eternity. You will not be deported necessarily. I think you can have a will and have a grave purchased and direct an extecuter of the will to perform the cremation for you if you desire.

nyouyaku said:

I think if you die in Japan, even as a foreigner, they will allow you to stay forever in Japan and stay in the cemetery for eternity. You will not be deported necessarily. I think you can have a will and have a grave purchased and direct an extecuter of the will to perform the cremation for you if you desire.

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Well there would hardly be any point to "deporting" some bones. Nor any interest on the part of the government regarding the purchase of burial space (which is actually most often a lease).

In Japan what you get back from a cremation is bones. In Western countries they run the burnt bones through a pulverizer, which is why you get ashes.

Mike Cash said:

Well there would hardly be any point to "deporting" some bones. Nor any interest on the part of the government regarding the purchase of burial space (which is actually most often a lease).
In Japan what you get back from a cremation is bones. In Western countries they run the burnt bones through a pulverizer, which is why you get ashes.

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Interesting Mike, I do not know the process of cremation very well, but are you saying that the bones are crushed in western crematoriums whereas in Japan they do not crush the bones? Are they cremated to a higher temperature in Japan then?

nyouyaku said:

Interesting Mike, I do not know the process of cremation very well, but are you saying that the bones are crushed in western crematoriums whereas in Japan they do not crush the bones? Are they cremated to a higher temperature in Japan then?

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I have no idea about the temperature, but the pulverizing part is correct. The "ashes" you get back in the west are just ground-up bone. Japan doesn't grind them. All the fleshy bits burn away to nothing in cremation and there is no ash from the meat.

Bury, cremate, ship body--all three are possible. Generally speaking for the Japanese, the body is cremated (very high temperature that the bones left are very clean and generally white and most of the fragile bones turn to ash) and laid to rest in a grave (bought either by the family or oneself in advance). This is common practice now regardless of being Buddhist or Christian. (I have no info regarding Muslims.)

Foreigners laid to rest in the old days were buried in the Western/Christian style (uncremated), but with the lack of space, many Christians opt for cremation in a small plot. But, there may be people willing to pay for a grave to bury someone uncreated. This depends on how much money you are willing to pay for the grave.

The Foreigners Cemetery in Yokohama mentioned in the thread no longer has space for new graves. The graves there are mostly of people who passed away in the Meiji/Taisho periods. I know a family who insisted on having their father buried there (in the 1970s), but it was done at tremendous cost and by pulling a lot of strings.

I have read of foreign nationals who have died in accidents in Japan having their uncremated bodies shipped to their home countries, on request by their families. So, I believe it depends on what the surviving families want.

Good info ! Thankyou !!

Kind of a grim topic , I wasn't sure if I would get any replys. With most of my patients being sick and elderly, I hear a lot of discussion about this topic.

Uncle Frank

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Uncle Frank said:

Kind of a grim topic , I wasn't sure if I would get any replys. With most of my patients being sick and elderly, I hear a lot of discussion about this topic.

Uncle Frank

☝

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My brother-in-law passed away last year, and a number of my friends' spouses did, too, recently. So, it was "current" topic for me.