The Japanese Approach to Emergency Planning and End-of-Life Planning
A bilingual workbook for international residents of Japan – so the people who love you, in whichever country and whichever language, will know what to do.
When my mother died in 2019, my sister and I spent days going through her desk and file cabinets, looking for insurance policies, a mysterious annuity she’d mentioned once, and — most urgently — the little notebook where she kept her passwords.
We never found the notebook. Closing her accounts turned into weeks of faxing death certificates back and forth. And that was in our own country, in our own language, with no language barrier and no time difference.
I came back to Japan and thought: if this was hard for us, at home, in English — what is this going to be like for my family in a language they don’t speak, navigating a bureaucracy they’ve never seen?
That question became this book.
Kristen McQuillin
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If you’re here, something probably brought you here. It might have been a difficult moment in your life: a parent’s diagnosis, a friend’s sudden death, or a birthday that made you do the math. Maybe an anxious 3 am thought that wouldn’t leave you alone. I am sorry about that, but it seems to happen to many of us.
The good news is that you’ve gotten over the hard part: actually realizing you need to address this planning and organising. The doing-it part is much easier than the deciding-to part.
The Ending Note isn’t about being old, or sick, or pessimistic. It’s about the fact that nobody knows the day that something unexpected comes. And in the meantime, you’re the only one who knows where your passwords are.
What changes when it’s done
You don’t have to imagine the worst-case scenario to picture this clearly. Here’s what happens once it’s filled out:
Your wishes are written down so nobody has to guess or argue.
Your family knows where to start. Not “everything” but at least the first few steps.
Someone can get into your accounts without trying to recall your childhood cat’s name as a security question.
If you’re in the hospital tomorrow, the person who loves you isn’t also trying to become a detective.
What’s Inside
Three things, working together:
The Workbook — 60+ pages, in both languages, covering the stuff that’s actually hard to reconstruct after the fact: emergency contacts, financial accounts, digital passwords, property, insurance, your wishes for care and for after. Print it and fill it in by hand.
The Conspectus — a shorter, 7-page summary as a fillable PDF. For the person who wants to do something today, when the full workbook feels like too much right now. Even filled out in one evening, it’s more than most families have. It’s also easy to keep up to date and share.
The Family Guide — because even with everything written down, someone still has to know what to actually do with a Japanese death certificate. Step by step, in plain language.
The Ending Note isn’t about age, it’s about being prepared.
This isn’t a project for “later.” Accidents don’t check your pension status before they happen. Earthquakes don’t care if you’re 66 or 26.
The relief of being prepared was real when I realised I could tuck a copy of my Ending Note into my emergency go-bag. If I have to evacuate in a natural disaster, I’ll have access to my own information and my husband’s, too. Our insurance agent’s phone number and policy numbers are right there along with all the details that slip one’s mind under stress.
The International Resident’s Ending Note came highly recommended by Ben Tanaka of RetireJapan.
Ending Note sounded like the perfect tool to help me overcome my organizational procrastination. I am already retired and have been working very slowly to organize my affairs so my wife and children can handle them efficiently when I pass.
Although I have only worked a few hours since I bought Ending Note, it has been invaluable for identifying what information my family will need, organizing it, and making it accessible.
– R. Kawaratani, Tokyo
Start with the Easy Part
Digital PDF Bundle ¥3,000
All three books, instant download, yours to print and keep. Free updates for life.
You don’t have to finish it in one sitting. You don’t have to finish it in one month. Doing the easy parts first puts you ahead of where you were yesterday.
✓ Ending Note Workbook (PDF)
✓ Conspectus (Fillable PDF)
✓ Family Guide Handbook (PDF)
✓ Instant download
✓ Print as many copies as you need
✓ Lifetime access
✓ Free updates
I know “Ending Note” sounds a little dramatic, but that’s what these workbooks are called in Japan. And I think that when you are making known your wishes for the day you “shuffle off this mortal coil” then Ending Note is even a bit humorous. Mostly, this is just a very practical, very loving thing to do for the people who’ll be left searching all your desk drawers.
You’ve got this. It’s just one drawer at a time.
Got questions? Just email me.
