Last Rites in Japan

When someone dies in Japan - Last rites in Japan

Written by Yogi (Yogendra Puranik), PhD, on February 28, 2021

For family and friends, the death of a loved one in any circumstance causes immense feelings of loss and sorrow. Where the death occurs overseas, there can often be additional complications in organising the funeral, repatriation, and other arrangements.

First, call the police

If the death has happened at home or outside and you are the first witness, call 110 (police) or 119 (fire brigade or ambulance) immediately and report. If the death has happened in a hospital, the doctor will provide you with a death certificate, using which you will have to carry out certain formalities with the local authority and your country’s embassy. You should also contact a funeral or transportation company, which will help you with different procedures.

Call your friends, community people

If such a situation happens to you in Japan, first, please get in touch with your best friend or a community person on whom you can rely. If you are not the family of the deceased, inform the next of kin in the home country.

Local law

There is no Japanese law limiting the time in which a body must be interred. Still, the scarcity and expense of refrigerated storage facilities dictate that the disposition of remains be completed as quickly as possible. Many police stations have no refrigerated storage, and hospital facilities are usually very limited. Next of kin of the deceased should promptly appoint a local funeral home.

Many police stations and hospitals have a list of local organisations and, in the absence of direction from next of kin, transfer the body into the care of a local funeral home for appropriate storage. Lack of immediate access to funds to pay for transportation and cold storage could lead the local authorities to unilaterally dispose of the remains as a public health hazard. Final arrangements for disposition would normally need to be made within a week after death.

Japanese law requires that at least 24 hours pass from the time of death until cremation or embalming may begin. Embalming or cremation may take several days, depending on the location of the remains and the schedule of the mortuary company and/or police station.

There are no Japanese laws, national or local, governing the exportation of human remains. A casket containing a body or human ashes is treated as ordinary freight. Shipping companies, however, usually require that the body be placed in a metal-lined casket. We recommend that the next of kin of the deceased consult with their funeral director to determine the advisability of viewing the remains.

Japanese cremation procedures do not result in somewhat larger pieces of bone. For an additional charge, bone can be processed into fine bone powder.

Autopsies

Autopsy and post-mortem examinations are generally conducted only where there is evidence of violent death, there is reason to suspect foul play, or the cause of death is unknown. There are three types of autopsies:

1) Judicial autopsy (for criminal investigation purposes by court order)

2) Administrative autopsy (no crimes are involved, but the cause of death is unknown)

3) Pathological autopsy or autopsy by consent (at the request of the family)

Invasive autopsies are not common in Japan when someone dies of a medical or natural cause. Only when death occurred under unusual circumstances, for example, if someone died in a hotel, or the police are involved to determine whether there was foul play involved or not. In the event of suicide or accidental death, there is generally no official requirement for an autopsy as part of the police investigation. If a next of kin wishes to request an autopsy (category three above) or other investigation into the cause of death, they should appoint a private legal representative in Japan to make arrangements on their behalf. A funeral home may also be able to assist.

Steps to cremation or repatriation of remains overseas

1. If you wish to have the deceased cremated in Japan, contact a local funeral or cremation service provider. If you wish to repatriate the remains overseas, contact a company specializing in international mortuary services. Such a company can generally assist with the subsequent procedures.

2. A doctor will issue a shibō shindansho (death certificate).

3. Submit the death certificate to the relevant municipal office together with a shibō todoke (notification of death).

4. Complete the municipal procedures and obtain a certified copy of the shibō todoke and a cremation permit. You may then proceed with the cremation, although you may need to wait for an available booking at the crematorium.

5. Have the shibō todoke and cremation permit translated into English or another required language by a qualified translator. The translation should include the translator’s name, qualifications, signature, and official stamp, where applicable.

6. Confirm with the relevant embassy or consulate whether authentication or an apostille from Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is required.

7. If authentication or an apostille is required, submit the designated original documents and translations to MOFA. Processing may take several working days.

8. Submit the required documents, translations, and the deceased person’s passport to the relevant embassy or consulate.

9. Depending on the country’s procedures, the embassy or consulate may issue the necessary certificate and cancel the passport or mark it “Deceased.”

10. For repatriating the remains overseas, apply for the 'Kaigai Iso Kyokasho' (=Overseas Repatriation Permit) at the local city office.

11. For repatriation to India, submit an application for permission through the eCARe portal. For other countries, check the applicable procedures with the relevant embassy or consulate. 

12. Once permission for repatriation has been granted, finalize the flight arrangements with the airline.

13. Please specify to the mortuary services where you would like to collect the remains, whether at your home or at the airport.

The shibō todoke authenticated or apostilled by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the documents issued by the relevant embassy or consulate, may also be required for official procedures in the deceased person’s home country.

The process up to cremation generally takes around two to three days. Repatriation overseas may take around seven to ten days. However, the actual time required will depend on the crematorium, municipal office, embassy or consulate, MOFA, airline, and destination country.

Mortuary/transportation services providers

  1. Airhearse International, Inc.

Web: www.airhearse.com, Tel: +81 3 6459 9509

  2. Funeral Support Services Co. Ltd.

     Web: www.funeralsupport.co.jp, Tel: +81 45 392 7232,
     Emergency Tel: +81-90-9850-7694

  3. Maruki Company Limited

Web: www.maruki.co.jp, Tel: +81-3-5246-5521

  4. Santoku Funeral Parlor Co., Ltd.

Web: http://www.santoku.tv/kaigai03.html, Tel: +81-3-3551-2047

5. D-Support Co. Ltd.
    Tel: +81-3-6423-9891, Fax: +81-3-6683-7962

Estimated costs

The cost will depend on the option you choose for the final arrangements, such as cremation or repatriation. Costs will generally be lower if the arrangements are completed locally. For a local cremation, you may choose from a simple cremation without a ceremony, a small funeral service followed by cremation, or a full-scale funeral attended by many guests and including food and other arrangements.

If you decide to repatriate the deceased’s remains overseas, the cost will depend on the place of departure and final destination, the type and quality of the casket, the size and condition of the remains, and additional requirements such as religious ceremonies. You should obtain quotations directly from funeral service providers. The costs listed below are estimates only and are subject to change:

Simple cremation in Japan: JPY 150,000 – 300,000, depending on the location.

Embalmment and return of remains to India: JPY 1,300,000 - 1,800,000. This will probably be the same for all countries.

No estimates are available for local burial in Japan. It is uncommon due to scarcity of space. Cremation is the norm in Japan.

There are no permit requirements for the importation of human ashes into many countries. However, please check for any quarantine requirements. In some countries, soil containers are not allowed. In some countries, you must declare the human ashes to the Agriculture Biosecurity upon arrival. Contact the airline or shipping company in advance, as these organisations may have additional requirements.

Documents required from the local authority

To prepare the remains, two documents must be obtained from the Japanese authorities. In many instances, a mortuary service in Japan can obtain, or assist you in obtaining, these papers. Translate and attest these documents for further use in your home country.

The first and most important document is the Japanese Death Certificate (Shibo Todoke Kisai Jiko Shomeisho). To obtain this death certificate, you will need to present both the hospital death record and the deceased’s identifying document, such as a passport. Notification of the death must be filed with the responsible municipal office within seven days.

The other required document, which can often be applied for at the same time as the Death Certificate, is the “Certificate of Permission for Burial or Cremation” (Maiso Kaso Kyokasho). To send the body overseas, please apply for an "Overseas Repatriation Permit" (Kaigai Iso Kyokasho). 

Documents required from the Embassy

The authorized representative must visit the Embassy with copies of the police report, death certificate, medical certificate (Embalming certificate), the permissions for burial or overseas transfer, and the deceased's passport. The Embassy will attest all the documents related to the death/dispatch of the body, cancel the passport, and issue a Registration Certificate of Death for transportation of the body/ashes of the deceased to India.

My suggestion regarding the disposition

I usually suggest a local disposition (cremation) as it is economical, and it helps you to overcome trauma quickly, say within a week. If you wish to transport the corpse overseas, it becomes a 2-3-week affair with a very high cost. If you do not have enough funds to cover the cremation, contact the local city office or NPOs for help, or reach out to us. We will try to do our best.

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