Funeral service promotion for seniors who quit driving

Seniors who voluntarily surrender their driver's licenses will receive a 15 percent discount on service fees at Hwinkaku, a company that operates 89 funeral homes in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

A Kyodo report found that the number of accidents involving people over 75 has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. Many of the accidents are caused by drivers confusing the brake pedal with the accelerator pedal. There are currently about 4.8 million drivers aged 75 or older, and the number is even higher in rural areas.

Toyota Group Chairman Fujio Cho in a Corolla. Photo: Reuters.

The government then rolled out a scheme to offer discounts on soup, noodles, ramen and groceries to seniors who turned in their driver's licenses. This scheme was very successful and the funeral discount scheme was continued.

The funeral company said it was working with police to bring the promotion to prefectures outside Aichi.

Police believe that reducing funeral expenses is a perfect measure to completely put an end to accidents caused by elderly people who fail to control their vehicles properly.

The service has drawn mixed reactions on the Japan Today website.

Many people thought the plan was like urging the elderly to die. “I wonder who came up with this? I’m sure giving away free bags of rice would be more helpful.”

However, there are also many opinions in agreement with this. “Why miss the opportunity to promote 15% discount on funeral services?”.

According to VOV