Paid to do nothing
- ECL
- Jun 17, 2021
- 1 min read
Updated: Jul 29, 2021
Japanese graduate Shoji Morimoto started renting himself out to other people "to do nothing" and was inundated with offers.
Since June 2018, he has been advertising himself as a person who can "eat and drink, and give simple feedback, but do nothing more". He has received over 3,000 requests and charges 10,000 yen for each one fulfilled.
He makes up numbers at a gaming session, accompanies couples as they file for divorce, or listens to stressed workers talk about their jobs.
"I'm not a friend or an acquaintance. I'm free of the bothersome things that accompany relationships, but can ease people's sense of loneliness. Maybe it's something like that for me," Morimoto told the Mainichi Shimbun.
Mainichi, 11 Jan 2021.
For some more details about Shoji Morimoto, watch the short video below:
Questions:
a) What do you think about this story?
b) It's often said that loneliness is a growing problem in Japan. Why do you think this might be?