Japan has always been a step ahead in the tech/robotics industry, progressive leaders in festivals that center around fertility and giant pink penises, oh wait, let’s not forget their WTF game shows.
And now they are tackling the funeral industry!
For some people in Japan, they won’t have to get out of their car to pay respects to the dearly departed. A funeral home operator in Nagano is planning on installing a drive-thru window.
Mourners will pull up to a window where they can sign their name on a touch screen and give customary condolence money. They will also have the option to use an “electronic incense-burning device.” The drive-thru isn’t meant for the lazy, though. The funeral home director explains the service is aimed at vast amount of elderly people who may lack or have limited mobility or those with a physical disability.
Japan’s aging population has turned funeral services into a booming industry, with more people looking to plan a simpler service. Annual deaths in Japan is expected to reach 1.43 million by 2020, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. Masao Ogiwara, the head of Kankon Sousai Aichi Group, mentioned that the service will cut down on the wait time by about one-fourth or one-fifth. And this new express funeral will also benefit and save time for workers since Japanese funerals typically take place around noon.
“I’ve been in this business for a while and have seen how burdensome attending funerals can be for old folks in wheelchairs,” Masao Ogiwara says. “The new service will allow those who would otherwise stay home go out and bid farewell to friends and family.”
Kankon Sousai Aichi Group, a funeral home operator in Nagano, Japan, plans to offer this new drive-thru service at a new funeral home location in December.
Source: New York Post
