The Atlantic: The Booming Japanese Rent-a-Friend Business

[dramazen]

In Japan, you can pay an actor to impersonate your relative, spouse, coworker, or any kind of acquaintance.

As a man whose business involves becoming other people, Yuichi would know. The handsome and charming 36-year-old is on call to be your best friend, your husband, your father, or even a mourner at your funeral.

His 8-year-old company, Family Romance, provides professional actors to fill any role in the personal lives of clients. With a burgeoning staff of 800 or so actors, ranging from infants to the elderly, the organization prides itself on being able to provide a surrogate for almost any conceivable situation.

Click to shrink...

Morin: What was your very first role?

Yuichi: I had a single-mother friend, and she had a son. He was trying to enter a private school, but they denied him solely because he had no father. I wanted to challenge the unfairness of Japanese society, so I posed as his father.

Morin: Were you successful?

Yuichi: Not in that situation. But, it inspired the idea for this business.

Morin: When was your first success?

Yuichi: I played a father for a 12-year-old with a single mother. The girl was bullied because she didn't have a dad, so the mother rented me. I've acted as the girl's father ever since. I am the only real father that she knows.

Click to shrink...

Morin: When do you feel the most like yourself?

Yuichi: When I'm with my family, my real family. It's agonizing to be alone and just think, "Is this really me, right now?" The inner monologues are tough.

Morin: How do you know that your family hasn't been hired?

Yuichi: That's a good question! No one knows.

Morin: I have a project collecting dreams, and often work is a common theme. Do you dream about your work?

Yuichi: I dream about my client—when she cries because I have to leave. It's a very emotional situation.

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Morin: How does that work when you're hired to do that in real life?

Yuichi: Usually, I accompany a salaryman who made a mistake. I take the identity of the salaryman myself, then I apologize profusely for his mistake. Have you seen the way we say sorry? You go have to down on your hands and knees on the floor. Your hands have to tremble. So, my client is there standing off to the side—the one who actually made the mistake—and I'm prostrate on the floor writhing around, and the boss is there red-faced as he hurls down abuse from above. Sometimes, I wonder to myself, "Am I actually doing this?"

Click to shrink...

Dude has a lot more anecdotes, it's a pretty fun interview. I wouldn't be surprised if there are businesses like this outside of Japan.

Would you hire people to 'fake' a part for more than one occasion, or even for long term?

 

[Slayven]

That is interesting, and kinda of speaks to the loneliness of modern society

 

[shnurgleton]

This sounds like the premise for a very strange romantic comedy

 

[Chamaeleonx]

That is interesting, and kinda of speaks to the loneliness of modern society

Click to shrink...

Its one of the reasons I personally like specific ASMR videos a lot. It gives you a feeling of not being alone, being appreciated in this colder growing world. For me it shows how people outside the internet behave and now advertising has changed how we perceive other human beings, at least that is my opinion. It seems like the pressure for a lot of things rises every year as we only picture perfect in a lot of parts of our life's.

The part about the 12 year old is sad... . Why bully someone because of this?

I think some of the "harder" parts work or may not as hard because you are partly acting. Going down on all fours to say sorry is your job in that situation and you probably try not to let it affect you that much.

I would hire a fake girlfriend as an example... . =P

Edit: He sounds like a kind man and somebody that thinks a lot about concepts like reality. Also, all these small moments of happiness like the grandchild moment or the 12 year old mentioned above. They are so happy, yet wouldn't be needed if other people would not be assholes. =/

 

[Commander Quackers]

No way has anime not done this already

 

[Pretty Bomber Head]

There was a thread about this on Tuesday.

 

[Sgt. Demblant]

I had never heard about this. Fascinating article.

 

[Rembrandt]

That is interesting, and kinda of speaks to the loneliness of modern society

Click to shrink...

Or at least to the loneliness in Japan.

High suicide rate. The highest or second highest.
Terrible work culture.
Cuddle motels
Hosts/hostesses
Not to mention the xenophobia and shit.
Etc.

Yeah, the rest of the world might be lonely but Japan seems to be alone in how much of that is affecting their culture. At least to an outsider looking in.


I remember articles about Chinese businessmen hiring random white guys to take to meetings just to improve their image. Weird.

 

[TheJollyCorner]

Yuichi: When I'm with my family, my real family. It's agonizing to be alone and just think, "Is this really me, right now?" The inner monologues are tough.

Morin: How do you know that your family hasn't been hired?

Yuichi: That's a good question! No one knows.

Click to shrink...

lol geez

 

[GameShrink]

Modern society has lost all warmth.

We're so worried about robots replacing us in the coming decades, but we overlook all the ways we've chosen to make our society more robotic. We've stripped the heart and soul out of everything.

Now go talk to your fucking neighbors before you die alone.

 

[Cels]

I don't have a real girlfriend right now. Real dating feels like work. It feels like work to care for a real person.

Click to shrink...

me_irl

 

[Slayven]

This sounds like the premise for a very strange romantic comedy

Click to shrink...

No way has anime not done this already

Click to shrink...

Rental No Koi about a girl that works at a girlfriend agency, for an hourly rate they will do the all the girlfriend stuff except no touching.

 

[Admiral Woofington]

This is touching. But also sad that people don't have friends to help them do this.

I. E. An uncle who really cared for the little girl and essentially became her father figure.

 

[Chamaeleonx]

Or at least to the loneliness in Japan.

High suicide rate. The highest or second highest.
Terrible work culture.
Cuddle motels
Hosts/hostesses
Not to mention the xenophobia and shit.
Etc.

Yeah, the rest of the world might be lonely but Japan seems to be alone in how much of that is affecting their culture. At least to an outsider looking in.


I remember articles about Chinese businessmen hiring random white guys to take to meetings just to improve their image. Weird.

Click to shrink...

You don't have these things in other parts of the world. But you can be sure that the loneliness is spreading due to the ever growing expectations of everybody around. Can't even imagine somebody being married for 50 years from now on like my grandmother is.

lol geez

Click to shrink...

Well, it turned him quite reflective and philosophical. I don't think that is a bad thing and a lot of people actually need such thoughts.

In the end you will come to a conclusion that works for you.
Akin to continue to believe the Matrix illusion of crushing it.
Sometimes you want to believe the illusion and not confront the "reality" to keep your sanity.

In the end, what is real anyway?

 

[Brazil]

Please use the previous thread on this article.

https://www.resetera.com/threads/the-atlantic-how-to-hire-fake-friends-and-family.4627/