Funeral services go online to avoid ‘3 C’s’

e use of the internet during the coronavirus pandemic has even spread to funerals, as temples o er new ways for the bereaved to bid a final farewell, in an environment free of the “three C’s” — closed spaces, crowded places and close-contact settings.

Bereaved families can listen to the chanting of sutras and Buddhist sermons online so that monks do not have to be present, and they can also broadcast the funeral live to those who cannot attend.

“I think my father would be happy to have a sutra read at the temple,” a 52-year-old man from Tokyo said about his father’s funeral, which was held on

May 10 with the use of videoconferencing application Zoom.

e man decided to hold the funeral at his home and used the services of Life Ending Technologies Co.

On the day of the funeral, the man sat with his wife and son and put his computer near the co n. A monk at a Tokyo temple appeared on the screen, and they listened to the chanting and the Buddhist sermon.

“Since I’m used to teleworking, it didn’t feel strange seeing a monk chanting sutras and reciting sermons on the screen of a computer,” the man said. “I think my father will be able to rest in peace now.”

Amid a strong need to make funerals as simple as possible, Life Ending Technologies

will continue this service even a er the outbreak is over.

A 57-year-old man in Chiba Prefecture video-streamed the funeral of his mother, who died at 84, for his wife and children via the Line messaging app. His mother’s home was in Fukuoka Prefecture, but the man’s three children live in Chiba Prefecture and Tokyo, so he attended the funeral alone.

Using Line’s video-calling function, his wife and children were able to hear the sutra chanted by a priest from Saihoji temple near his mother’s home.

The priest, Tatsuya Nishimura, 57, said: “e style of funerals changes with the times. It enabled his wife and children to be involved.”

A number of services have emerged to stream funerals live for people who cannot attend.

From this month, Tokyo-based Hibiya-Kadan Floral Co. began streaming funerals in seven prefectures, including Tokyo and Kanagawa, live on YouTube free of charge upon request. A similar service is offered by Nagano Prefecture-based Tsubasa Koekisha and Yamagata Prefecture-based Hakuzensha.

Funeral company Koekisha Co. conducted a survey of 100 people in April about the influence of the coronavirus pandemic on funerals, and 86% said either downsizing or simplifying funerals in a time of emergency is unavoidable.

e enormous impact of the coronavirus seems to be behind people’s acceptance of using the internet.