Evolving Japanese Perspectives on Death and Dying

Japanese attitudes toward death and dying have gone through profound changes during the 20th century. I shall describe the recent changes from my own experience by introducing the activities of the "Japanese Association for Death Education and Grief Counseling". The three basic goals of the Association are: 1. providing death education (for hospital and hospice staff, the general public, and for junior and senior high schools); 2. Improving terminal care in hospitals and developing hospice programs; 3. Establishing mutual support groups for bereaved people. We have to be aware that different cultures have, indeed, different attitudes toward death and dying, as well as toward bereavement and grief. Japanese perspectives on death and dying are not a static phenomenon but are rather in a dynamic evolving process. In order to understand a country’s perspectives on death and dying, we have to look at the cultural background and the underlying value structures of the culture.