With 16 public holidays annually toasting everything from oceans to the elderly, celebration is a big part of Japan’s yearly calendar. But, if you’ve lost a loved one here, finding time to properly celebrate their life can be a lot trickier. The loss of a loved one is difficult even in the easiest of circumstances, but when you throw in things like language and cultural barriers, geographic distance and bureaucracy, mental and emotional stress can get in the way of celebrating your loved one’s life in the way that you want to. Understanding the hurdles involved with funerals in Japan, Robert Hoey and his company Funeral Support Services have developed a reputation as a supportive, empathetic and bilingual provider of everything from embalming to repatriation and estate counseling. 

Bilingual Support for Funerals in Japan

Born and raised in Canada, Hoey worked as a funeral director in his home country before relocating to Japan in 1993. Now one of the few remaining foreign embalmers in Tokyo, Hoey spent much of his early years in the country gaining experience in the local industry and teaching embalming techniques to Japanese trainees. But, with equal expertise in organizing and directing funerals in Canada, Hoey was eager to get back to the more interpersonal aspects of the industry and, noticing a gap in the market, started Funeral Support Services in 2017. “Canada is kind of a melting pot of different cultures, so I was trained in Christian funerals, Buddhist funerals, Jewish funerals, Islamic funerals, the whole gamut,” Hoey says. With the local industry primarily versed in Buddhist and Shinto ceremonies, Funeral Support Services has met the demand nationally for bilingual services no matter the religious or cultural requirements. From cremation and burial to small social gatherings and larger religious and secular events, Hoey and his team have developed the connections and resources required to meet a variety of individual needs. 

Cremation vs Burial in Japan

“99.9% of people are cremated in Japan which is the highest cremation rate in the world,” explains Hoey. “The main reason why burials are rare is because of the lack of space in the cities where most of the people live. People want to be near their deceased family members.” However, Hoey’s support services for funerals in Japan makes burial possible for your loved ones. “My company has performed burials for people whose faith has a tradition of burial over cremation,” he continues. “Muslim and Jewish people prefer to be buried as soon as possible after death.  The mosques in Japan regularly do burials at the cemeteries in Saitama and Ibaraki. We will assist the mosque in any way that we can, even helping to prepare the grave. One of our most memorable burials was recently held in the Jewish section of the Yokohama  Foreign General Cemetery. That cemetery holds the rich history of the foreign community in Japan stretching back 170 years. It is almost full now so it is extremely rare to have a burial there.” 

Repatriation from Japan

When it comes to repatriation, the process is often easier than many people think. “Quite often Japanese funeral companies don’t have experience doing repatriations and they don’t have staff that can communicate in English,” says Hoey. “They increase the cost substantially to make it worth the trouble of handling these kinds of cases. We understand the need to contain the cost especially if the deceased doesn’t have insurance to cover the cost of repatriation.  We have also figured out ways to reduce the cost by using lighter materials to cut the high cost of air freight, which is affected by weight. Recently people have been using crowdfunding and support by friends and relatives to afford the repatriation and funeral expenses. People tend to come together when a family is in need.”

With limited bilingual alternatives available in Japan, Hoey has seen repatriation become a significant aspect of the services his company offers. Having developed strong relationships with numerous foreign embassies around the country, Hoey and his team are able to assist with the technical aspects of document translation and submission as well as flight and transportation logistics. With friends and family living overseas who might not understand the intricacies of repatriation from Japan, Hoey and his team provide a source of relief, “People look at my website and see that I’m a native speaker, and that puts them at ease,” Hoey says. “My company has a dedicated English phone line, so people can call from overseas and get that right away.” Hoey also understands that repatriation can be pricy so by offering all their services in-house, so his team can reduce costs where necessary to fit individual requirements and budgets. 

Estate consulting in Japan

A more recent addition to the company’s services is estate consulting. “Previously the embassies would really have to step in,” Hoey says, “but now everything is given to us and we take care of it all. We’re connected to lawyers, real estate companies, cleaning companies, you name it. We can take care of everything, right to the end.” Hoey says that estate counseling has become an invaluable service for those living internationally who need assistance with everything from the sale or delivery of personal effects to house cleaning and real estate concerns. With Japanese bureaucracy often presenting its own unique challenges, Hoey notes that communication is a big part of his company’s role. Explaining. “I like to keep the family updated the whole time on what’s being done.” 

Funerals at churches in Japan

When dealing with the foreign community, Hoey is brought into many different churches. He is able to conduct a funeral in a church just as the family has experienced in their home country, bringing them a form of comfort during such a difficult time.  Traditions are important to families when it comes to funerals.  “Tokyo has some very beautiful churches with some very knowledgeable leaders” Hoey explains “I attended a Christmas service at the Catholic church in Roppongi with a family from Guam who came to Japan for the one-year anniversary of the death of their father. I bonded with that family when we took care of the repatriation and they contacted me when they came back to Japan. As Catholics they wanted to reflect on the death of their father at church and the priest was very welcoming to them.” Hoey is often asked to recommend a church for families coming from overseas when a death occurs.  As a member of the Tokyo Interfaith Council, he can reach out to the leaders of different faiths to help families in need. 

The interpersonal and compassionate aspects of Hoey’s industry are what led him to start his own funeral company to begin with, and it seems that their focus on these aspects has helped Funeral Support Services develop a name for itself domestically and internationally. After over 30 years in the industry, Hoey understands the various challenges that can come with the loss of a loved one, particularly when international borders and language barriers are involved. “We have dealt with some mixed nationality families. In some cases when the Japanese spouse dies the Japanese side of the family takes over and tells the foreign spouse that this is Japan and it has to be done a certain way. This is not the case. Funerals are especially important for the immediate family and can be done in a very unique hybrid way bringing in different traditions to satisfy both sides of the family. We are able to facilitate this which will keep peace in the family.”

Over the past seven years, he has dedicated himself to developing seamless solutions, easing the journey from the time of loss to repatriation and estate management when it comes to funerals in Japan and the loss of a loved one. Funeral Support Services offers families and friends time, space and peace of mind, ensuring that celebrating a life becomes a touch more manageable, even in the face of life’s most challenging moments.