{"id":227652,"date":"2017-08-23T12:45:27","date_gmt":"2017-08-23T16:45:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aleteia.org\/?post_type=post&p=227652"},"modified":"2017-08-23T12:45:27","modified_gmt":"2017-08-23T16:45:27","slug":"well-heres-one-answer-to-the-priest-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2017\/08\/well-heres-one-answer-to-the-priest-shortage\/","title":{"rendered":"Well, here’s one answer to the priest shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

From the Buddhists:\u00a0<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

A Japanese company has introduced a new role for SoftBank\u2019s humanoid robot \u201cPepper\u201d \u2013 a Buddhist priest for hire at funerals.<\/p>\n

Chanting sutras in a computerized voice while tapping a drum, the robot was on display on Wednesday at a funeral industry fair \u2013 the Life Ending Industry Expo \u2013 in Tokyo.<\/p>\n

Nissei Eco Co., an unlisted plastic molding maker, wrote the chanting software for \u201cPepper\u201d, which was introduced by SoftBank Group Corp. in 2014.<\/p>\n

With Japan\u2019s population aging and shrinking, many Buddhist priests receive less financial support from their communities, prompting some to find part-time work outside their temple duties, said Michio Inamura, Nissei\u2019s executive adviser.<\/p>\n

The funeral robot could step in when a priest was not available, he said. It also cost less at 50,000 yen (about $450) per funeral compared to more than 240,000 yen ($2,200) for a human priest.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read on.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Check out the video of him in action above.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From the Buddhists:\u00a0 A Japanese company has introduced a new role for SoftBank\u2019s humanoid robot \u201cPepper\u201d \u2013 a Buddhist priest for hire at funerals. Chanting sutras in a computerized voice while tapping a drum, the robot was on display on Wednesday at a funeral industry fair \u2013 the Life Ending Industry Expo \u2013 in Tokyo. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":132,"featured_media":227653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-227652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWell, here's one answer to the priest shortage<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From the Buddhists:\u00a0 A Japanese company has introduced a new role for SoftBank's humanoid robot "Pepper" - a Buddhist priest for hire at funerals.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/deaconsbench\/2017\/08\/well-heres-one-answer-to-the-priest-shortage\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Well, here's one answer to the priest shortage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From the Buddhists:\u00a0 A Japanese company has introduced a new role for SoftBank's humanoid robot "Pepper" - 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