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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsThis guy is angling for my job.
Asia
Rent-a-stranger: This Japanese man makes a living showing up and doing nothing
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Julia Mio Inuma
Yesterday at 4:00 a.m. EDT
Shoji Morimoto, 38, known as Japan's do-nothing guy, waits for his client at a subway station outside Tokyo. (Michelle Ye Hee Lee/The Washington Post)
TOKYO Before moving out of Tokyo for her new job, Akari Shirai wanted to eat at the favorite restaurant she used to visit with her then husband. There was one issue: She didnt want to be flooded with thoughts about her divorce by going alone. But she didnt feel like inviting a friend and explaining the situation, either. ... So she rented Japans do-nothing guy.
Their near-silent lunch lasted about 45 minutes. Shirai ordered her favorite dish and intermittently asked questions. She shared memories of her marriage and showed him a photo from the wedding. He nodded and gave curt answers, sometimes a dry laugh. He never initiated conversation. ... It was exactly what Shirai wanted.
I felt like I was with someone but at the same time felt like I wasnt, since he existed in a way where I didnt have to be attentive of his needs or think about him, said Shirai, 27. I felt no awkwardness or pressure to speak. It may have been the first time Ive eaten in complete silence.
[Fake travel finds a foothold in wanderlust-filled Japan and South Korea]
For years, theres been a cottage industry in Japan and South Korea of renting strangers to impersonate friends, family members or other acquaintances, as a way to save face at social functions where plus-ones are expected. {snip video} But over the past four years, Shoji Morimoto, 38, has built a cult following by offering himself as a warm body who can simply be there, liberating his clients from the social expectations of the spoken and unspoken norms of Japanese society. Morimoto nicknamed Rental-san, incorporating an honorific has inspired a television series and three books and has drawn international attention through his viral social media posts.
{snip}
By Michelle Lee
Michelle Ye Hee Lee is The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, covering Japan and the Korean peninsula. Twitter https://twitter.com/myhlee
Rent-a-stranger: This Japanese man makes a living showing up and doing nothing
By Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Julia Mio Inuma
Yesterday at 4:00 a.m. EDT
Shoji Morimoto, 38, known as Japan's do-nothing guy, waits for his client at a subway station outside Tokyo. (Michelle Ye Hee Lee/The Washington Post)
TOKYO Before moving out of Tokyo for her new job, Akari Shirai wanted to eat at the favorite restaurant she used to visit with her then husband. There was one issue: She didnt want to be flooded with thoughts about her divorce by going alone. But she didnt feel like inviting a friend and explaining the situation, either. ... So she rented Japans do-nothing guy.
Their near-silent lunch lasted about 45 minutes. Shirai ordered her favorite dish and intermittently asked questions. She shared memories of her marriage and showed him a photo from the wedding. He nodded and gave curt answers, sometimes a dry laugh. He never initiated conversation. ... It was exactly what Shirai wanted.
I felt like I was with someone but at the same time felt like I wasnt, since he existed in a way where I didnt have to be attentive of his needs or think about him, said Shirai, 27. I felt no awkwardness or pressure to speak. It may have been the first time Ive eaten in complete silence.
[Fake travel finds a foothold in wanderlust-filled Japan and South Korea]
For years, theres been a cottage industry in Japan and South Korea of renting strangers to impersonate friends, family members or other acquaintances, as a way to save face at social functions where plus-ones are expected. {snip video} But over the past four years, Shoji Morimoto, 38, has built a cult following by offering himself as a warm body who can simply be there, liberating his clients from the social expectations of the spoken and unspoken norms of Japanese society. Morimoto nicknamed Rental-san, incorporating an honorific has inspired a television series and three books and has drawn international attention through his viral social media posts.
{snip}
By Michelle Lee
Michelle Ye Hee Lee is The Washington Post's Tokyo bureau chief, covering Japan and the Korean peninsula. Twitter https://twitter.com/myhlee
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This guy is angling for my job. (Original Post)
mahatmakanejeeves
Mar 2022
OP
riversedge
(69,721 posts)1. seems like a good job.
COL Mustard
(5,782 posts)2. I'm ahead of you in line....
So wait your turn to do nothing!
MiHale
(9,593 posts)3. Retired from doing not much...
Now even he does too much for my taste.