Japan boasts the world's highest cremation rate, a practice now extending to beloved pets. In spring 2023, in Tokyo's Nakano Ward, American-born product manager Jordain Haley and British-born education consultant Margaret Jane bid farewell to their shared gray rabbit, Megalodon. Jane, away on business, said goodbye via video call.
On a quiet weekday in spring 2023, a discreet white van arrived at an apartment in Tokyo's Nakano Ward. Inside, Jordain Haley, a 30-year-old American-born product manager, and Margaret Jane, a 31-year-old British-born education consultant, mourned their jointly owned small gray rabbit named Megalodon. Jane, who was out of town, had bid farewell to the ailing pet via video call.
"We saw it coming because she had a lot of health problems and she'd been steadily deteriorating a long time," Jane says. "Rabbits are very fragile. They have so many babies because they die so easily, but even at the end with her fur falling out, Mega was very tenacious."
Haley adds fondly, "She was tiny, but full of rage."
Japan holds the world's highest cremation rate, and this extends increasingly to pets, with services mimicking human farewells. Temples often host such ceremonies, highlighting pets' status as family members in Japanese society.