Cremation for 9,000 Yen? Japan’s Grim Reality and Controversy Over Child Cremation Fees

The final stop for the human body: the crematorium — its presence is now attracting more attention than ever. In Tokyo’s 23 wards, a private company operating crematoriums recently raised fees, citing soaring fuel and labor costs, sparking debate over whether the prices are reasonable.

Because outsiders are strictly prohibited from entering or filming inside crematoriums, little is known about their actual operation. This time, our reporting team obtained special permission to enter and witnessed the harsh realities of the work and the latest equipment firsthand.

First part: “Document: No-Entry Crematorium — The Daily Life of Those Who Burn the Dead at the Very End”

A dedicated switch for cremating children

At Kiryugaoka Crematorium, a single staff member handles everything from the cremation itself to dealing with the bereaved families and transferring the ashes into urns (“bone picking”). By taking full responsibility for the process from start to finish without dividing the tasks, the staff can handle the work with accountability. Shifts are scheduled, and some staff start early in the morning and work almost nonstop until evening. On busy days, there can be up to 70 cremations in a single day.

On the furnace’s control panel, next to the flame adjustment buttons, there was a switch labeled “子” (child). When asked by a veteran employee, there was a few seconds of silence before he explained its meaning:

“This is a dedicated switch for cremating children. The flame needs to be weaker than for adults. Handling children is the hardest. In the past, I conducted the cremation of an elementary school-aged child who died in an accident, about the same age as my own child.

Thinking about the parents’ feelings makes me want to cry, but I cannot cry in front of the bereaved. Every time I press this button, I remember that child. We deal with many bodies in a day, but we can’t help thinking about each one individually. Interacting with the bereaved also requires extreme care.”

Because of the physically and mentally demanding nature of the work, new employees often leave soon after joining. Due to the nature of this crematorium, all staff are Japanese, but securing and training personnel is very challenging. Simply working at a crematorium has, until recently, led to discriminatory remarks from others, and some employees have said, “I couldn’t openly tell people what my job was.”

Someone has to do it

Within Tokyo’s 23 wards, there are a total of nine crematoriums—seven private and two public—but nationwide, 97% of crematoriums are operated by municipalities or other public bodies. Private crematoriums receive no subsidies such as tax support, so in the 23 wards, the cost of a single cremation ranges from 80,000 to 90,000 yen. Due to issues like land acquisition, new entrants are hard to expect, and as Japan faces a society with increasing deaths, existing facilities are becoming more important as public infrastructure. Ryoma Noguchi, president of Tokyo Hakuzen, which operates six crematoriums in the city, spoke about this.

“We receive a variety of opinions regarding the reasonableness of our prices, but we want to leave the judgment to third parties, such as the authorities. Considering labor and fuel costs, expenses are constantly rising, and management is not easy. For us, someone has to do it—this is work that is important to society, and we carry it out with a sense of mission.”

On December 31, New Year’s Eve, when the city is steeped in the festive mood, our reporting team visited the crematorium again and found staff carrying out their duties as usual. Sometimes many people gather around the furnace to pay respects to the deceased; other times, due to various circumstances, the staff alone witness the final moments. Because many families want funerals completed before the end of the year, on this day the cremation reception hours were extended by three hours, handling cases until after 6 p.m. New Year’s Eve is actually the busiest day of the year, and almost all staff work. A veteran employee muttered:

“Even if we hurry to change and leave, it’ll be the time the Red and White Song Battle has started on TV. But this is our job.”

In the past, crematoriums were symbolized by tall chimneys constantly emitting black smoke. Nearby residents sometimes complained that it was bad luck, and with environmental considerations, modern smoke filtration systems have been installed and chimneys have disappeared. Yet, even if the form has changed, crematoriums remain places that witness and receive people’s final moments. Today, the crematorium continues to keep its fires burning without rest.

From the January 30/February 6, 2026 issue of “FRIDAY”