As sex dolls often become the focus of affection for lonely people around the world, one company in Japan now offers owners the opportunity to lay their cherished artificial companions to rest via an actual funeral ceremony, SoraNews24 reports.
According to the media outlet, while there is a number of shrines and temples in Japan that hold services for dolls, due to the belief that they actually have souls like humans, love dolls didn’t enjoy a similar treatment due to the stigma surrounding them.
Enter the Human Love Doll Company which postulates that “love dolls are born to be loved”, offering a variety of funerary plans for prospective clients, complete with funeral rites “led by Japanese monk and AV actress Rei Kato”.
The standard Doll Funeral Plan, which costs 50,000 yen (about $455), includes a funeral and a memorial service, with the owner receiving a funeral certificate and “a commemorative photo or video of the ceremony”.
After all the rites are performed, the doll would then be sent to be processed by an industrial waste disposal company which is partnered with the Human Love Doll Company.
Other than love dolls, the company also provides funerary services for ball-jointed dolls, regular dolls, stuffed animals and figurines, the media outlet adds.