hese offer funerals starting at about 200,000 yen, a fraction of the regular overpriced services, and lists the different options and prices to choose from a la carte. Many of these new funeral homes are started by non-Japanese nationals. Also, recently hotels with a decreasing income due to a decrease in weddings have started to offer funeral services. Overall, the level of competition is increasing. To stay competitive, the prices of regular funeral homes are also decreasing over time. Another recent introduction are services where a person can choose his or her funeral service before death, and pays a monthly fee (e.g. 10,000 yen) to cover all costs of the funeral.