In Japan, a body cannot simply be cremated immediately after someone dies. Cremation requires official permission from the municipal government.
However, a cremation permit is not permission to hold a funeral. It is not required for ceremonies such as the wake or funeral service itself. It is an administrative authorization required before the body can actually be cremated.
Normally, a death notification is submitted to the local government together with a death certificate or postmortem certificate completed by a doctor. Once the death notification has been accepted, a cremation permit is issued. The crematorium cannot carry out the cremation without confirming this permit.
Why is this procedure necessary? It allows the authorities to confirm that the cremation of the body is being carried out through the legally required process. The system does not allow the family and crematorium simply to decide on their own to proceed immediately. The official notification of death and the cremation are connected through an administrative procedure.
As a general rule, cremation also cannot take place within 24 hours after death. The cremation permit is therefore part of a broader legal framework governing how human remains are handled.
In practice, however, bereaved families may not think very much about the permit itself. Funeral companies often help with the death notification and arrangements for cremation, so from the family’s point of view, the paperwork may simply be handled as part of the normal sequence from wake to funeral to cremation.
For that reason, the cremation permit is not very visible during the funeral process. Legally, however, it is essential. The death must first be officially reported, the authorities must authorize the cremation, and the crematorium must receive that authorization before the cremation can take place.
In short, a cremation permit is not a ceremonial document required for the funeral. It is the legal authorization that connects the official notification of death with the cremation that follows.
