

Japanese Department store Aeon expands into funeral business - jbm
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fd20101017pb.html

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jbm
For those wondering, I found this particularly interesting:

Last summer, nationwide retailer Aeon started advertising on its website
funeral services that included a price menu for things such as wakes,
funerals, cremation and even the dispensing of kaimyo (posthumous Buddhist
names). The All-Japan Buddhist Association protested over the inclusion on
Aeon's price list of ofuse, monetary offerings made to priests who carry out
funeral rites. It objected because Aeon was basically merchandising a
transaction that is private in nature.

