Photo/Illutration The large balloon, center, contains a person’s ashes that will be lifted up into the stratosphere, using the balloon space funeral service. (Provided by Balloon Kobo)

UTSUNOMIYA--Demand is rising for a funeral service that scatters the ashes of loved ones high into the stratosphere, as some in Japan turn to alternative ways to dispose of remains.

The balloon space funeral service releases a balloon carrying the deceased’s ashes up toward outer space, putting a new twist on releasing balloons at a funeral as a symbolic gesture for a final send-off from this world.

The balloon floats higher and higher, until it bursts, scattering the remains into the air, where they majestically float far above the Earth.

Out of tradition, Japanese people dutifully care for the final resting place for the remains of their loved ones. But an increasing number of people are reportedly struggling to look after their relatives’ remains and maintain their ancestors’ graves.

That is due in part to the country’s dwindling birthrate, which can lead to having fewer or no relatives to look after one’s grave, and also due to the difficulty in securing grave sites, which can be expensive.

Local company Balloon Kobo said it created the unique service to fulfill consumers’ desires to send the remains of the deceased up into the heavens so they can “watch us from the vast sky” and “return to nature without inconveniencing anyone.”

“We are receiving a growing number of requests from those who are at a loss about where to keep remains because they do not have burial places,” said Yoshihiro Onodera, president of Balloon Kobo. “We have only been able to organize a limited number of these types of funerals, but we present our service as a new way for scattering remains.”

According to the company, people across Japan have used the service nearly 300 times now, while another 100 individuals have made advance bookings.

One request for the service was from the bereaved family members of a pilot, who died of illness at age 35. Another was a person who loved to travel abroad.

Balloon Kobo put to use the expertise and skills it developed over its more than four-decade history in the balloon business to devise a way to safely send the ashes high up into the atmosphere. It first made its patented service commercially available in 2011.

The funeral service can be held in an area measuring at least 10 meters by 10 meters, where there are no tall buildings, overhead power cables or other obstacles nearby.

During the service, the company fills a balloon with the finely ground remains and then inflates it with helium gas until its diameter reaches a size between 2 to 2.5 meters. It then releases it into the sky.

The balloon rises until it reaches an altitude of 40 to 50 kilometers above the ground, which takes about three hours. Then, the balloon grows three to four times in size and, as the air pressure drops to about one-hundredth of that on the ground, it ruptures, scattering the ashes.

The funeral costs 240,000 yen ($2,267) per person, and 180,000 yen to fly the ashes of a pet toward space.

Sending the ashes of an additional person or pet up into the sky simultaneously is priced at 120,000 yen and 50,000 yen, respectively, excluding tax. The company also charges a grinding fee for the remains.

Balloon Kobo said the service is environmentally friendly because the balloon will eventually decompose into the soil from exposure to water and sunlight. Human remains are mainly comprised of calcium phosphate, so they will not hurt the environment, the company said.

The company said it is believed that the remains disperse and continue floating around the stratosphere, carried by prevailing westerly winds.

Related News