A man of 69 in a small town in Fukuoka Prefecture in Japan invited about 20 business friends to his home and held his “funeral.” Ritually, it was a full-dress funeral, complete with funeral sutra chanting by two Buddhist priests. He even held the customary rites for the seventh day after his “death.”

What was his idea? The director of the local soft drink dealers’ association, explained: “If my friends have enough friendship for me to attend my funeral when I die, I should rather they showed their friendship now.” After the obsequies, there was an evening of revelry with gay entertainment. The “mourners” ate, drank, and made merry. Said the “deceased” in satisfaction: “From now on I’ll forget myself and work for the trade and for the world.”