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 The business inside, Sousou, is one of Japan's latest so-called
corpse hotels, a camouflaged morgue used to store some of Japan's
mounting pile of bodies waiting for a spot in one of the nation's
overworked crematoriums.
“Crematories need to be built, but there isn’t any space to do so
and that is creating funeral refugees," said Hisao Takegishi, who
opened the business in 2014.
At a daily rate of 9,000 yen ($82) family members can keep their
deceased relative in one of Sousou's 10 rooms for up to four days
until a crematorium can be found.
Unlike other such morgues-in-disguise, which try to blend in by
looking like hotels, Sousou doesn’t refrigerate corpses, relying on
air conditioned rooms instead.
As Japan ages its people are dying off at a faster pace. About
20,000 more people per year are expiring with the death rate
expected to peak at about 1.7 million a year by around 2040,
according government estimates.
By then, barring any major influx of immigrants, Japan will have 20
million fewer people.
Residents of Kawasaki are unhappy about living next to Sousou's
hidden corpse refugees, with placards and flags dotting the
neighborhood expressing outrage at the presence of the morgue.
Yoko Masuzawa, 50, who, lives behind Sousou, demanded it put air
ventilation grills above ground level, a request that she says it
ignored.
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"It was built so close, less than a meter away in some places," she
said.
Sousou's customers, however, are grateful for a place to keep their
deceased relatives.
“I think it’s great that families and acquaintances can come and
visit before she heads off to the crematorium,” said 69 year-old
Hirokazu Hosaka, as her mother's body lay in a decorated coffin in
Sousou.
Takegishi, who used to help organize weddings, is looking to tap
growing demand, with plans to bring corpse hotels to other cities.
(Reporting by Teppei Kasai; writing by Tim Kelly)
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