Artist's rendering of the "Somaru"

Poets and sailors have always had a fascination for the sea, and now the Japanese cremation business is looking in that direction too. In this country, land based cemeteries are running out of space, so the demand for cremations at sea is growing, and especially built crematorium cruise ships are moving from the planning stage to reality.

These comfortable cruise ships will process the mortal remains of the dearly departed in the on-board cremation facilities, while the family enjoys a pleasant three hour cruise at sea or around the local harbor. Religious funeral rites will be an integral part of the experience, mainly incorporating Buddhist ceremonies.

The reasons behind this move to sea oriented cremation and funerals are mainly the lack of cemetery space in Japan, and the high cost of land based temple ceremonies. Government agencies have also grown anxious about the fact that normal deaths increased to 1.08 million in 2006, which is double the average yearly number of deaths over the past 40 years. This increase is related to the large, aging Japanese population. One interesting point to note however, is that the Japanese problem is not nearly as extreme as that expected in the United States, where approximately 3.52 million baby boomers are reaching the ends of their lives.

The idea to build crematorium ships in Japan is the result of a two-year government research project which revealed that the number of crematoriums around the nation have decreased from 26,089 in 1952 to the present number of 4,899. These statistics, along with the lack of cemetery land and prohibitive funeral costs, resulted in a decision by the Nippon Foundation to fund a plan for the construction of the "Somaru," a 26-ton ship with a built in car ferry, funeral ceremony hall, and four on board crematoriums.

Somaru is the first of several such planned ships.