Japan’s ageing society is finding creative ways to dispose of its dead

The Sakashitas gather in front of a gigantic red balloon. Inside it are the ashes of their late father, Haruhiko, and his late dog, Fuu-chan. On a count of three, Saiko, the dead man’s daughter, snips the string tethering the helium-filled orb. It shoots into the sky, with a dozen smaller balloons in pursuit. The family members watch—some waving—until the balloons disappear into the clouds. “Our father was a calm man, always travelling the world,” says his oldest son, Kohei. “Whenever we look at the sky, we will think of him.”

In Japan, people are traditionally cremated after death and their ashes buried. But in a crowded, ageing and largely secular society, this is becoming trickier and less desirable. Japan’s death rate is soaring—in 2022 the country logged 1.5m deaths, the highest figure since the second world war. Grave sites are running out of space. There are fewer grieving relatives around to perform funeral rites, or to tend graves. As a result, the rituals surrounding death in Japan are changing.