Japan has recorded the removal of over 151,000 graves nationwide, as grave maintenance becomes increasingly difficult due to the aging population.
Mainichi reported on December 24th, citing data from Japan's Ministry of Health , Labour and Welfare, that 151,076 family graves were removed during fiscal year 2022 (April 2022 to March 2023), the highest number since data collection began in 1997.
These graves are dismantled so that the ashes of the deceased can be scattered into the sea or transferred to a common storage facility. This trend is believed to be due to Japan's rapidly aging population and low birth rate, which means fewer and fewer people have the means to care for their ancestors' graves.
Hokkaido in the north recorded 12,200 cases of grave removal, the highest in the country, followed by Tokyo and Osaka with 11,000 and 8,000 graves respectively.
Workers relocate a grave at Himeji City Cemetery in Hyogo Prefecture. Photo: JT
Midori Kotani, a senior expert at the Dai Ichi Life Institute for Research on the Life and Culture of the Elderly, believes that the Covid-19 pandemic may cause many Japanese people to question the essential nature of the traditional family burial model.
She noted that more and more people are choosing more "personalized" burial methods, such as scattering ashes at sea, because it is difficult to expect younger generations to properly care for their graves. In fiscal year 2022, Japanese local governments had to remove more than 3,400 neglected graves.
Tokyo and many other localities are encouraging people to remove graves before there are no longer any caretakers, by subsidizing part of the cost.
Japan is a "super-aging" country, meaning more than 20% of its population is over 65 years old. The Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announced on July 26th that citizen registration data up to January 1st showed the number of Japanese citizens was 122.42 million, a decrease of 800,000 compared to last year. This marks the 14th consecutive year of population decline in Japan.
Duc Trung (According to Mainichi )
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