Last Monday morning, as I was on my way to Narita Airport via the Asakusa Line, an advertisement on the subway caught my attention. “Initial fee: 350,000 yen, Eternal Care Grave.” The ad was accompanied by an image of a memorial plaque.
From what I understand, “columbariums” in Japan, where the ashes of the deceased are kept, can be quite expensive. In the Tokyo metropolitan area, the initial fee ranges from 800,000 yen to 1.2 million yen (roughly 5,200 to 7,800 USD). The 350,000 yen price likely only gets you a small gravestone in a communal cemetery.
In Japan, death is not as taboo a subject as it is in many countries such as China. Similar advertisements are everywhere, and the people promoting such services don’t seem to find it offensive. However, this isn’t the main point of the article. What I’m more interested in is: Has Japanese society perhaps become overly “price-transparent”?
Honestly, as a Chinese citizen, I don’t even know how much it costs to create a burial plot back home, as the price is highly negotiable depending on the agreement with the service provider. Unless you specifically inquire, you won’t know. But as a foreigner living in Tokyo, I know exactly what the going rate for grave plots is.
Is this what defines the “highly developed capitalist country“? Everything is priced transparently, everything is commodified. How do elementary school children, wearing their bright yellow hats, feel when they see cemetery prices on subway ads? Do they ever think about saving up for a grave, regardless of who it’s for, once they grow up?
The Positive Side of Price Transparency and Commodification
The positive aspect of price transparency is the sense of security it brings. From restaurants to beauty salons, to real estate agencies, almost every service can be booked in advance, with prices clearly stated, either verbally or in writing. This uniformity across the country means that price gouging is rare. Even foreign visitors are unlikely to be deceived due to language barriers.
However, the negative consequence is an expanding sense of nihilism. The stagnant economy has made everything more predictable, down to the smallest details. From birth to death, each stage of life can be roughly estimated. Discussions about how much one needs to spend throughout their life have become commonplace, with books on personal finance filling the shelves.
For example, the following list was widely shared on Twitter:
Wedding ring: 350,000 yen
Wedding ceremony: 1.43 million yen
Honeymoon trip: 300,000 yen
Delivery surgery: 500,000 yen
Public school education: 7.84 million yen
Private school education: 22.37 million yen
Car: 5 million yen
House: 60 million yen
Insurance (40 years): 14.84 million yen
Mobile phone (30 years): 2.5 million yen
Pension: 20 million yen
Caregiver costs: 5 million yen
Funeral: 1.2 million yen
Total: approximately 141 million yen (about 976,000 USD)
For ordinary citizens, a lifetime of income comes from steadily growing salaries. If you calculate using the average income in Japan, this amount is roughly what a worker might earn in 25 years of their career.
“It’s unnecessary to spend more than half of these things, I could save XX yen,” isn’t just a joke among young people in Japan—it’s a real-life choice. In 2023, Japan’s total fertility rate fell to 1.2, the lowest since 1947. At the same time, the number of marriages dropped to 500,000, a post-war low. The “lying flat” phenomenon is growing among Japanese youth.
The Changing Values and the Rise of Individualism
Against this backdrop, traditional values are gradually losing their mainstream status. The demand for more diverse lifestyles is gaining more attention. It seems that anyone can find their own niche in the concrete jungle, as long as they’re willing to pay the corresponding price.
Japan is perhaps the only country where beauty is highly commodified. This is a significant indicator that anything can be priced in Japan. A man who may not have been popular with women as a boy, can now, as an adult with income, go to a nightclub and drink with his dream woman, receiving her admiration in return.
Is it expensive? 20,000 yen per hour. Whether it’s expensive or not depends on how you view the situation. The person involved can even openly discuss this matter without facing any moral judgment, even if they’re married. This is viewed as spending money for entertainment, and it is perfectly legal.
The Sensory Overload of Japanese Consumer Culture
Moreover, Japan’s various goods and services go to great lengths to stimulate the consumer’s senses. Even the simplest convenience store displays have been carefully designed to present a dazzling array of choices, enticing customers to spend. It’s even possible to experience “kneeling service” during a work lunch.
Everything in Japan can be priced, everything can be commodified, and the consequences are that social class distinctions have become extremely detailed and precise, right down to the income range. Even where you live can be a key indicator. For example, in Tokyo’s 23 wards, the income ranking by area is as follows:
1. Minato Ward: 13.96 million yen
2. Chiyoda Ward: 11.21 million yen
3. Shibuya Ward: 10.73 million yen
4. Chūō Ward: 7.8 million yen
…22. Katsushika Ward: 3.75 million yen
23. Adachi Ward: 3.75 million yen
This stark income ranking is published by Japan’s Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. In contrast, most cities in China only rank districts by GDP per capita. In Japan, just filling out your address can give people a good idea of your economic status.
The supermarkets frequented by the rich and the poor are also different. This concept is also widely discussed on the Japanese internet. In Tokyo, the upper class tends to prefer high-end brands such as Kinokuniya and MEIDI-YA. The middle class leans toward options like Seijo Ishii, Tokyu, Life, and Miuraya. For the general public, there are stores like AEON, BIG-A, Isumiya, and SEIYU. For even more affordable options, choices include Niku no Hanamasa, Gyomu Super, OK, and ABS.
The Consequences
The consequences of everything being commodified and priced are clear: society becomes more stratified, and individual identity increasingly becomes something that can be priced and classified. From the luxurious to the basic, every aspect of life is measured. It’s a society where everything, even death, is packaged and sold as part of life’s inevitable cycle.
