A 37-year- old Japanese man named Shoji Morimoto, who quit his job in publishing, now makes a living by renting himself out “to do nothing” with strangers. He has now not only gained an enormous following of 268,000 followers on Twitter, but also has thousands of clients.
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) January 6, 2021
Anyone can rent this man from Tokyo for 10,000 yen (Rs. 7,000 approx.) plus travel and meals expense. He says he will not do anything except “eat, drink and give a simple response”.
今回の依頼者はレンタルなんもしない人だけでなくプロのカメラマンもレンタルしてて、レンタルなんもしない人をレンタルしてる様子を撮ってもらってました。依頼者の携帯にリアルタイムで次々と良い写真が送られてきて面白かったです pic.twitter.com/n89jNTANIK
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) December 30, 2020
He initially offered his services for free. Way back in June 2018, he posted a tweet about the same for the first time, “I offer myself for rent, as a person who does nothing. Is it difficult for you to enter a shop on your own? Are you missing a player on your team? Do you need someone to keep a place for you? I can’t do anything except easy things.”
しない人のなかった話 pic.twitter.com/SDKBGT9SGj
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) December 28, 2020
But upon receiving thousands of requests, Morimoto now charges to reduce the volume of requests and discourage time-wasters. Having had 3,000 clients since the day he first started, he now averages at 3-4 clients everyday.
これもらってずっとさげてたけど次の依頼がスマートカジュアルというドレスコードを指定されてたので返しました pic.twitter.com/Awe3vDPPwo
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) November 1, 2020
Many people who are bored and lonely rent him for various reasons like having lunch, posing for Instagram photos, catching butterflies in the park, etc. One of his clients said, “I’m glad I was able to take a walk with someone while keeping a comfortable distance, where we didn’t have to talk but could if we wanted to.” Another client wrote, “I had been slack about visiting the hospital, but I went because he came with me.”
「迎賓館の庭園でアフタヌーンティーができるらしいので同席してほしい」という依頼。めちゃくちゃ優雅でした。アフタヌーンティーのキッチンカーなんてあるんですね。 pic.twitter.com/LKH5lfGIc0
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) December 11, 2020
He has also received many intriguing requests from people who wanted to be listened to. Some of these include accompanying someone to file a divorce and listen to healthcare workers talking about their struggles. On the extreme end, a man also hired him to describe a murder he had committed, while another paid Morimoto to pick him from the hospital and revisit the site of his suicide attempt, The Independent reports.
試着させられました。細身だから適任だったようです。 pic.twitter.com/evKWuS5GGu
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) November 9, 2020
Morimoto is a married man and holds a postgraduate degree in physics from Osaka University. He says, “I’m not a friend or an acquaintance. I’m free of the annoying things that go with relationships but I can ease people’s feelings of loneliness.”
今日は犬に同行してます pic.twitter.com/2jYJQx4ZD1
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) January 6, 2021
He added, “I personally don’t like being cheered on by other people. It bothers me when people simply tell me to keep persevering. When someone is trying to do something I think the best thing to do is to make it easier for them by staying at their side.”
— レンタルなんもしない人 (@morimotoshoji) December 22, 2020
In less than 3 years, Morimoto has published books about his career choice and also inspired a TV drama. What do you think of this new form of supporting people? Tell us!