Cremation furnaces are seen at a funeral hall operated by a private company in Tokyo’s Suginami Ward on Oct. 4, 2025. (Mainichi/Ryo Endo)
As aging of Japan’s population advances, the number of people dying will continue to increase for the next decade or so. We need to think about how people are mourned so that families can say a peaceful final goodbye to those they have lost, even as we enter a full-fledged “high-death society.”
Soaring cremation fees have become a problem in Tokyo. A private operator that runs more than half of the crematoriums in the capital’s 23 wards raised its basic fee the year before last by 20% in one stroke, citing rising prices and other factors. The original fee of 75,000 yen (about $475) has now risen to 87,000 yen (around $550). This is nearly double what it was 15 years ago.
Tokyo has a “ward resident funeral” system that can lower cremation fees to 60,000 yen (around $380) or less if certain conditions are met. But this spring, the program was suspended.
The national government stipulates that, in principle, crematoriums should be operated by local governments. Around 98% of the roughly 1,300 facilities nationwide are publicly run, but Tokyo’s 23 wards, where mainly private operators had handled cremations since the Meiji era, are an exception, with many privately run facilities.
Fees at public crematoriums run by other local governments are, in most cases, either free or 20,000 yen or less. Facing criticism that the price gap is too large, the Tokyo metropolitan government is asking the national government to establish a legal framework that would allow municipalities to rein in fee increases and changes in management policies.
However, even if that happens, the gap will not shrink dramatically. That is because other local governments keep cremation costs low by covering the greater part of the cost with public funds. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government, by contrast, operates on the principle that users should bear the cost. Even the one crematorium operated by the metropolitan government charges a basic fee of 59,600 yen (about $377).
In Japan, as a rule, a body cannot be buried unless it has been cremated. Given the highly public nature of cremation, smaller fee disparities are more desirable. There is also discussion of placing private crematoriums under public operation, but purchasing them would incur significant costs. Wouldn’t providing bereaved families with public funds to cover a portion of the cremation fees be a more realistic way to ease the burden?
As the number of deaths rises in the future, it is feared that cremation capacity may not keep pace with demand across Japan, especially in urban areas. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government estimates that, if current conditions continue, capacity will become tight around 2035. Some ordinance-designated cities are already seeing frequent waits of around one to two weeks for cremation.
To resolve the problem, it is necessary to expand cremation capacity, but many local governments are facing financial difficulties. Without support from the central government, some regions will likely have no choice but to raise cremation fees. It is time to reopen the discussion over what form the burden should take and what roles the national and local governments should play.