中國網(wǎng)站品牌欄目（頻道）
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 Morticians prepare a body at the Lastel corpse hotel in Yokohama, south of Tokyo, September 10, 2011. Death is a rare booming market in stagnant Japan and the Lastel corpse hotel, where bereaved families can check in their dead while they wait their turn in the queue for one of the city's overworked crematoriums, is just one example of how businessmen are trying to tap it. |
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Across from a noodle shop in a Yokohama suburb, Hisayoshi Teramura's inn looks much like any other small lodging that dots the port city. Occasionally, it's even mistaken for a love hotel by couples hankering for some time beneath the sheets. But Teramura's place is neither a love nest nor a pit stop for tired travelers. The white and grey tiled building is a corpse hotel, its 18 deceased guests tucked up in refrigerated coffins. "We tell them we only have cold rooms," Teramura quips when asked how his staff respond to unwary lovers looking for a room. The daily rate at Lastel, as it is known, is 12,000 yen ($157). For that fee, bereaved families can check in their dead while they wait their turn in the queue for one of the city's overworked crematoriums. Death is a rare booming market in stagnant Japan and Teramura's new venture is just one example of how businessmen are trying to tap it. In 2010, according to government records, 1.2 million people passed away, giving the country an annual death rate of 0.95 percent versus 0.84 percent in the United States, which is also the global average. The rate of deaths is on the increase. Last year, there were an extra 55,000 dead and over the past decade, an average of 23,000 more people have died each year in Japan. Annual deaths are expected to peak at 1.66 million in 2040 as the bulk of the nation's baby boomer generation expires. By then, Japan's population will have shrunk by around 20 million people, an unprecedented die off for a nation neither at war or blighted by famine. Although two decades of economic malaise has weighed on incomes, a tradition on splashing out on ceremonies means the Japanese still pay an average of 1.2 million yen on flowers, urns, coffins and other funeral expenses. It adds up to a market worth a whopping $21 billion a year, or twice what Americans spend annually on funerals. "There's been a rush into the market," says Teramura, who founded cemetery developer company Nichiryoku 45 years ago. Even Japan's second biggest retail chain, Aeon, rail companies and the nation's biggest farmers association, Japan Agriculture are getting into the business, he notes. (Read by Christine Mallari. Christine Mallari is a journalist at the China Daily Website.) (Agencies) |
橫濱郊區(qū)的一家面館對面，寺村久佳的小店看起來和遍布在這個港口城市中的其他小旅館沒什么差別。偶爾還會有想共度春宵的情侶將其誤認(rèn)為是情人酒店。 但是，寺村的小店既不是愛巢，也不是疲憊旅客的休息站。這棟白墻灰瓦的建筑是一座存尸所，有18位具尸體被安放在冷凍的棺材里。 在被問及他的員工如何答復(fù)那些想訂房間的粗心情侶時，寺村俏皮地說道：“我們告訴他們這里只有冰冷的房間。” 據(jù)悉，拉斯特爾存尸所每日的費(fèi)用是1.2萬日元（合157美元）。支付了這筆費(fèi)用后，失去親人的家庭就可以讓逝者“入住”，一邊排隊等待將尸體火化。橫濱市的每個火葬場都十分繁忙。 在經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條的日本，喪葬市場是極少數(shù)發(fā)展繁榮的市場之一。寺村的新企業(yè)只是商人們試圖從中贏利的一個范例。 根據(jù)政府的記錄，2010年日本有120萬人去世，這使日本的年死亡率達(dá)到了0.95%，而美國的年死亡率——也是全球平均值——為0.84%。 日本的死亡率一直在上升。去年比前年的死亡人數(shù)多了5.5萬人，在過去十年中，日本年平均死亡人數(shù)比以前多了2.3萬人。 日本年死亡人數(shù)預(yù)計在2040年會達(dá)到166萬的高峰，那時日本大多數(shù)“嬰兒潮”一代將去世。到那時日本人口將減少2000萬人，對于一個期間既沒有經(jīng)歷戰(zhàn)爭也沒有遭遇饑荒的國家來說，這種人口縮減是史無前例的。 盡管二十年來的經(jīng)濟(jì)蕭條影響了人們的收入，但是日本葬禮鋪張的傳統(tǒng)意味著日本人平均仍要花費(fèi)120萬日元，用于鮮花、骨灰甕、棺材和其他葬禮支出上。合計起來，日本喪葬市場每年花費(fèi)多達(dá)210億美元，相當(dāng)于每年美國人在葬禮上花費(fèi)的兩倍。 寺村在45年前創(chuàng)建了陵園開發(fā)公司覺王山陵苑。他說：“有許多人想搶占這一市場。”他指出，甚至連日本第二大連鎖零售企業(yè)永旺集團(tuán)、鐵路公司和日本最大的農(nóng)民協(xié)會“日本農(nóng)業(yè)”都在涉足這一行業(yè)。 相關(guān)閱讀 日本核事故災(zāi)區(qū)或幾十年內(nèi)無法居住 強(qiáng)震引發(fā)婚姻思考 日本流行“離婚典禮” （中國日報網(wǎng)英語點(diǎn)津 陳丹妮 編輯：馮明惠） |
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Vocabulary: lodging: 租住的房間 dot: 星羅棋布于 hanker for: 向往；渴望 pit stop: 旅行休息站 tuck up: 把……舒服地裹好 quip: 說俏皮話 unwary: 不謹(jǐn)慎的；粗心的；不警惕的 bereaved: 喪失親人的 crematorium: 火葬場 stagnant: 蕭條的，不景氣的 tap: 開發(fā)；利用 bulk: 大部分，主體，大多數(shù) expire: 斷氣，死亡 blight: 破壞，摧殘 malaise: 不景氣，蕭條 splash out: 揮霍 whopping: 巨大的 |
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