お葬式は全て生前葬に変えた方がよい。賛成か、反対か？

Generally, we have funerals somebody passes away. It is not too hard to imagine a funeral scene that there is a photo of the loved one and flowers around it; relatives, friends, and some other close people come together for the loved one.

When it comes to funerals, it is a life event that people around that person feel very sad, saying like "He was a great man" or "It is too sad that we don't have her with us in this world anymore". A lot of people cry in sadness to say the last good-bye. What makes it more unfortunate is that we no longer have that person alive with us at the time of funerals.

This is the typical understanding of what a funeral is. Correct?

But wait a minute.

Why do we wait until somebody passes away?

If people can gather BEFORE somebody has to leave this world to another, he or she gets to talk to his/her friends, and they can also say whatever they wish. They would never miss a chance to tell something that they have wanted to for a long time if any. Additionally, it seems quite valuable that the person can literally hear how much he/she is loved, in LIVE. It is too sad if people feel like they miss a moment to tell the last good-bye to the loved one. If that's the case, just go talk to them before they leave. This seems far more active, social, and valuable than traditional funerals.

This kind of the life event is called "a living funeral(生前葬)". 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLH322oeLKM

This is not common in Japan, but what do you think? 

With this being said, the debate topic goes; "Should we replace traditional funerals with living funerals?"

Just to note, sometime people call living funerals as an event where people experience "sample funerals" while they are alive so that they can see what it is like to be sent through a funeral. This kind of living funeral is different from the one that this debate topic involves. When I say "living funerals," I mean to say that this is a kind of funerals that people gather before someone passes away so that they can socialize and do not miss a chance to interact before it becomes impossible, in contrast to traditional funerals. 

Okay, enough said, I believe.

See you in the lesson!

Let me know if you have any questions.