• Unusual symbolic rituals draw attention to scientific research in Japan

• Wide employee participation in a decades-old tradition

A Japanese company specializing in insecticide production held a memorial service to honor the insects that were killed during product development tests, in a move that attracted widespread attention on social media.

About 100 employees participated in the ceremony, held at a temple in Hyogo Prefecture in southern Japan on December 23, where a religious ritual was dedicated to honoring the insects used in research.

Japanese media reported that the company has maintained this annual tradition for more than 40 years. It is one of Japan’s largest insecticide manufacturers.

Reports indicated that the company’s research facilities house over a million cockroaches, along with more than 100 million fleas and other insects for testing purposes.

During the ceremony, photos of experimental insects, including mosquitoes, cockroaches, and mites, were placed before an altar, while employees took turns offering incense and praying for the peaceful rest of the insects that contributed to product development.

Tomohiro Kobori, head of the company’s research and development department, said the ceremony “represents an important opportunity to reflect on the role of insects and express gratitude toward them.”

The ceremony lasted about an hour and included a monk reciting Buddhist texts and delivering a sermon.

The company’s insect memorial service began in the mid-1980s, though the originator of the practice has not been revealed.

Reports confirmed that the insects raised and tested by the company never caused harm to humans.

Some employees admitted that they initially found the ritual strange or even amusing, but eventually they were moved by the solemn atmosphere and understood its deeper meaning.