Norihisa Tomiyasu

Norihisa Tomiyasu opened his first mortuary in 1997 aiming to clean up a profession he says deserved its bad reputation for exploiting people's grief and overcharging them at some of the most fraught moments of their lives. "The industry was so backward,'' he says."I wanted to make it more socially responsible.''

Norihisa Tomiyasu opened his first mortuary in 1997 aiming to clean up a profession he says deserved its bad reputation for exploiting people's grief and overcharging them at some of the most fraught moments of their lives. "The industry was so backward,'' he says."I wanted to make it more socially responsible.''