Death might be a subject avoided in many cultures, but in Japan the attitude toward to the inevitable termination of life is open, honest and frank. So much so, in fact, that coffin-trying services and other ‘death businesses’ in the country – known as shukatsu – are thriving.

Blessing ceremonies? Power stones? Cultivating one’s ki energy? Gen Yers in Japan aren't just embracing these things – a growing number are spending on them, too. Amid economic turmoil and rampant Americanisation, young Japan is turning to religion for both their personal and national identities.

Every culture has rituals that can help people in mourning, but sometimes tragedy occurs on such a large scale that the old customs don’t cut it. In Japan, over 10,000 people have visited a phone booth in the town of Otsuchi, where they can ‘talk to’ loved ones killed in the 2011 earthquake.

It’s a fact; we’re getting old. By 2020, over-60s will outnumber under-5s for the first time. And as death looms, our fear of it does, too. Linda Court Salisbury and Gergana Y. Nenkov sit down with Canvas8 to explain how considering our own mortality can affect decision making in later life.