My mother-in-law passed away last week, and I attended the funeral in Tokyo. The five-day wake was a mind-blower in so many ways. It made me think of just how different Japan is than the United States and how, in so many ways, it is so far superior, both culturally and technologically. We have much to learn. First, the treatment of death is much different. My mother-in-law's body went directly from the hospital, where she passed away, to the home of her husband. There, the body was placed on the floor in the home's tatami room, a traditional chamber, lined...
