This Japanese man earns $80,000 a year doing nothing

Masaji Morimoto’s daily routine consists of lending himself to strangers who will do just about anything for someone’s company.

Li Yingshan

When Shoji Morimoto was fired in 2018, his superiors criticized him for lacking initiative and “not doing anything of value to the company.” He’s a joke because Morimoto, now 41, has since carved out a lucrative career out of nothing.

Known in Japan as the “idle” renter, Morimoto’s daily job consists of lending himself to strangers who seek someone’s company for almost anything. These requests range from waiting for marathon runners at the finish line to video calls while bored clients redecorate and clean their rooms. On one occasion, a client was unable to attend a concert with her friends and Morimoto was rented to take her place.

Morimoto Shoji reserved a spot in the park for his client.

Masaji Morimoto

From the ridiculous to the mundane, Morimoto will simply appear to do “nothing” except what he’s asked to do – except sex.

“I have been in objectively difficult situations, such as standing in line under the scorching sun, standing in the freezing cold for hours, attending parties with only strangers, and standing alone on a stage in front of a large audience doing nothing.” The father of a seven-year-old told CNBC Success.

“But no matter what misfortune I’ve been through, I feel like it’s something special that happened because I did this job, so I can still cherish it,” he said.

not a therapist

Morimoto’s longest one-time assignment was to sit on the same railway line, from early morning to the last train, start to finish, a 17-hour journey. “We did 13 laps on the Yamanote Line (train station) line,” he said.

Others ask Morimoto to listen to customers on bad days. When it comes to dialogue, however, Morimoto offers the bare minimum and simplest answers. In other words, he nodded and listened intently, but made a point not to play therapist.

Morimoto told CNBC he receives about 1,000 requests a year and lets his clients decide how much to pay him. He used to charge a flat fee of 10,000 yen to 30,000 yen ($65 to $195) for a two- to three-hour course and earned about $80,000 last year.

Morimoto launched a pay-as-you-go model late last year.

“I voluntarily charge fees, so I don’t know if it’s sustainable, but I’m excited to try it and see if it’s sustainable,” Morimoto said. He added that his goal is not to make a living or support himself but to “simply live and Enjoy it”.

CNBC spent two hours with Morimoto, taking him to a piggy cafe in Tokyo, where customers can sip drinks and interact with a litter of piglets.

Li Yingshan

To test his service, CNBC Make It spent two hours with Morimoto, taking him to a piggy cafe in Tokyo, where customers can grab a drink and interact with a litter of piglets.

I had planned to go alone, but walking into a crowded cafe and seeing customers in pairs and small groups made me feel a little relieved to have Morimoto with me.

And another bonus: he could take pictures of me while I played with the pigs.

After some initial communication in my broken Japanese and the help of Google’s translator, no further small talk was necessary and I left him to his own devices and focused on my pig. Then I realized Morimoto’s appeal: clients like me could enjoy the event in a social setting without being judged for going it alone. Even better, I don’t feel obligated to maintain a conversation with anyone when I’m really just here for the pigs.

This is in line with the current needs of Japanese people. They do not seek love, marriage, or the trouble of a relationship, but they want someone with whom they can date and eat casually.

Sakata Ai

Consultant at Nomura Research Institute

While there are no official statistics tracking Japan’s rental industry, the country has a large number of temporary rental services. girlfriend, Boy friend, friends even family.

“This is in line with the recent needs of Japanese people. They are not seeking love or marriage, nor do they want the trouble of such a relationship, but they want someone with whom they can date or eat casually,” Sakata Ainomura, a consultant at the Research Institute, told CNBC.

not just loneliness

Morimoto and experts who spoke to CNBC said loneliness may be a reason why some people pay for such services, but it’s not the only reason.

Hiroshi Ono, a professor of human resources at Hitotsubashi University, said some people may crave companionship, but others may just be a little “socially awkward.”

The professor added that most Japanese people don’t necessarily handle confrontation or even direct communication well. “People may be too embarrassed to say, will you be my friend? So to avoid that embarrassment, they’re just willing to pay the price.”

Shoji Morimoto waved goodbye to a customer who asked to say goodbye at the train station.

Masaji Morimoto

On one occasion, Morimoto said, a woman paid him to sit in the corner of a cafe, within sight of her, while delivering divorce papers to her husband without attracting his attention. The process of signing the documents went smoothly, Morimoto said, and the divorcees gained extra courage by having someone they knew around them.

The 41-year-old observed that his presence acts as a kind of security blanket, temporarily allowing those who feel uncomfortable in certain environments to socialize.

“There are many different (favorite) moments in this job, such as when I receive the offer, when I meet the client, when I accompany the client to a strange place, and when I just listen to stories, I feel happy every time. All the time,” Morimoto said.

“There’s nothing I really want to do,” he said.

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