Said Shoji Morimoto, 38, quoted in "Rent-a-stranger: This Japanese man makes a living showing up and doing nothing" (WaPo).
He charges 10,000 yen (about $85) per session.... Morimoto often finds that his clients don’t want to burden people they care about with their needs.
“I think when people are feeling vulnerable or are in their intimate moments, they become more sensitive toward people that are close to them, like how they will be perceived, or the kind of actions they will take for them,” he said. “So I think they want to just reach out to a stranger without any strings attached.”...
The lifestyle works well for Morimoto, who is not that talkative or expressive even when he’s not working. He wears his signature blue hat and a hoodie — and a blank stare — so that clients can easily recognize him, but dresses up when the situation requires him to be more formal.
I like this a lot. It seems that Morimoto is sincere in his orientation as a person who performs nothingness. I'm sure this quip has already been quipped: He has nothing to give. And I think there are people who need and benefit from this service, especially if it comes with high-quality assurance that the service-provider is fulfilling his mission in life as he understands it.
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OMG! Where do i sign up?
This sounds (LITERALLY) like the job i was put on this earth for
Disregard any forecasts about how there won't be work for people in the future because of automation. As quick as old professions are made redundant new ones will be invented.
And this is a real job. I learned that in 70s when I did a lot of hitchhiking around the US. Often, in exchange for a free ride, the driver would want to talk and I would listen to things that the driver most likely would not tell friends or family.
A perfect profession for our age. Showing up and performing nothing, with no expectations from either the buyer of the service, or the provider of the service, that anything will be done, or said, or shown. Getting paid for it. And becoming a thing, soon to be a meme.
Our government has been working hard at creating this nationwide. We're getting very good at it, as a nation. I'm so proud.
When your mother sends back all your invitations
And your father to your sister he explains
That you’re tired of yourself and all of your creations
Won’t you come see me, Queen Jane?...
Now when all of the bandits that you turned your other cheek to
All lay down their bandanas and complain
And you want somebody you don’t have to speak to
Won’t you come see me, Queen Jane?
Unwritten short story: In the future, as the human's jobs are taken over by robots, this is the one last job that, it is understood, cannot be done by a robot.
The two clients featured are women. It is near-axiomatic that the majority of his clients are as well. Which makes one wonder how often the "do-nothing guy" impromptu becomes, well, you know, the "do-a-little-something guy".
Louis CK, call your office.
This seems exactly like what the show New Girl did with Nick and his park bench Korean friend Tran
Ann, does this meet your criterion that "nothing" is a high standard to exceed?
= being there (1979) + i'll be there (by michael jackson) - all the ebullient excitement
Being present has a value all its own. A business woman alone in a strange town, meeting with strangers, might just want an associate present - even one doing nothing. A low level executive might want a one man entourage to increase prestige. A lonely person might want someone sitting across the restaurant table, doing nothing, while the solo person dines.
For that price, here in Austin, a day laborer is available for at least half a day. They get a bit bored if you want them to do nothing, however.
Often, in exchange for a free ride, the driver would want to talk and I would listen to things that the driver most likely would not tell friends or family.
YES! deeply personal things, that are DONE of My Business! That's what happens to me
The two clients featured are women. It is near-axiomatic that the majority of his clients are as well. Which makes one wonder how often the "do-nothing guy" impromptu becomes, well, you know, the "do-a-little-something guy".
Not in my experience. The reason (THE reason) why women pick ME to tell me about their
Boyfriends
Kids
Abortions
Etc
is because (unfortunately) they do NOT see me as anyone that would EVER have a chance of becoming the "do-a-little-something guy". I'm not only not a threat, i'm not even possibility. Listening to Women tell me about how they are going to have to have ANOTHER abortion (because They don't like the pill, and their beau doesn't like wraps); is (unfortunately) the Story of My Life. But, if i got PAID for it...
Interestingly, no one (NO One) tells me their personal problems with having found a spot on Lower Granis creek, where the Brown trouts are particularly unwary..
They some how feel that i might abuse that confidence :)
He is a 50%er, a good start, but hardly exemplary. He can do less to reach his nirvana.
For someone with nothing to give, he has so much to give...
A perfect profession for our age. Showing up and performing nothing
Here in America, close to 50% have perfected it even more - they don't actually show up and still collect!
Ann Althouse said...
Unwritten short story: In the future, as the human's jobs are taken over by robots, this is the one last job that, it is understood, cannot be done by a robot.
*****************
Make sure that the story's climax features thousands of robots rising up to make war on humans for forcing them to try.
"Rent a Friend" is a Japanese movie. "Rent-a-pal" is an American movie. I didn't see either, but I imagine that the Japanese film is a sensitive study of human loneliness and the American one is a raucous sex comedy. Apparently, it's comedy-horror or something like "Cable Guy", but close enough.
mikee said...
Being present has a value all its own. A business woman alone in a strange town, meeting with strangers, might just want an associate present - even one doing nothing. A low level executive might want a one man entourage to increase prestige. A lonely person might want someone sitting across the restaurant table, doing nothing, while the solo person dines.
Unless I'm missing something about what this guy does, neither of those business meetings sound like situations were literally doing nothing wouldn't stand out like sore thumb. You could certainly get away with merely acting like you were performing a useful function as an assistant or collaborator, shuffling papers, taking notes, or making anodyne observations but sitting mutely without reaction seems to me would likely strike more than a few people as odd, and has a risk of introducing a certain incongruity into the situation.
It could be a personal thing. I've traveled and dined alone more than a few times and nothing would creep me out more than somebody just sitting at the table with me as I ate.
There were a lot of kids like that on campus. But instead of being free-lancers, they had society paying for their lumpishness.
Sounds like a good job for George Costanza.
So incredibly Japanese : )
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent-A-Girlfriend
Japan has been flirting with this for a while.
My former employer paid hundreds of people a lot more money than $85/day to do essentially the same thing. Those folks all had degrees though.
This could be a useful service for attractive women. Want to go out alone to shop and drink coffee without being approached by men? Hire this dude to silently go with you.
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