Does image show QR codes on gravestones in Japan? Fact Check

ByCraig Haley

An image claims to show QR codes prominently displayed at the top of gravestones in Japan, allowing visitors to find online information and photos about the person buried underneath.

FALSE

An example of the image as seen on social media is below –

There are graves in japan equipped with QR code for each grave.
Which show you a picture, information and a brief biography of the life of the Dead.

Despite what the image above claims, this does not show QR codes on gravestones, nor was it taken in Japan.

A reverse image search reveals that they are not real gravestones, rather a memorial dedicated to victims of World War II, specifically victims of the Nanjing Massacre and the Bombing of Chongqing. The memorial was at the Foreigner Street entertainment area in Chongquing, China, though it was reported that in 2019 the entertainment area had closed and relocated. We’re not sure if the memorial gravestones were relocated as well.


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However, having QR codes added to a memorial or gravestone isn’t just a fantasy. In fact it has been a practise for well over a decade, with a number of reports surfacing from Japan and even in the United States about such high-tech headstones.

However, in most genuine examples we’ve seen, the QR code is often more subtly placed, such as on the side of the stone or next to it, as opposed to gaudily and permanently plastered at the top of the headstone as claimed in the original image. This is possibly down to the fact that QR codes may at some point become a dead technology, replaced with superior alternatives, in which case the QR code would likely require removing or updating.

However, since the claim here is that this particular photo shows such QR codes – it does not – and as such we rank this claim false.

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