The Booming Japanese Rent-a-Friend Business

This whole story is an interview with one person, so I’m skeptical. But it’s still a thought-provoking meditation on the public performance of personal relationships.

We have a huge variation of employees and the dedication to create an experience that surpasses reality. That’s why our motto is “more than real.” We had a case recently where a dying man wanted to see his grandchild, but it would not have been born in time. His daughter was able to rent an infant for the day.
[…]
I believe the term “real” is misguided. Take Facebook, for example. Is that real? Even if the people in the pictures haven’t been paid, everything is curated to such an extent that it hardly matters.–The Atlantic

Post was last modified on 10 Nov 2017 9:47 pm

View Comments

  • This was such a fascinating story! I’d love to read in-depth accounts of individual rentals.

  • There's a notorious Christmas movie about this- "Surviving Christmas." A rich guy hires a fake family to play out his dream of what a nice family Christmas should be like... it's pure cringe.

Share
Published by
Dennis G. Jerz

Recent Posts

Another corner building. Designed and textured. Needs an interior. #blender3d #design #aesthetics #medievalyork #mysteryplay

Another corner building. Designed and textured. Needs an interior. #blender3d #design #aesthetics #medievalyork #mysteryplay

5 hours ago

There’s No Longer Any Doubt That Hollywood Writing Is Powering AI

Two years after the release of ChatGPT, it may not be surprising that creative work…

2 days ago

The complex geometry on this wedge building took me all weekend.  #blender3d #medievalyork #mysteryplay #cgi #aesthetics #design

The complex geometry on this wedge building took me all weekend. The interior walls still…

4 days ago

Sesame Street had a big plot twist in November 1986

My older siblings say they remember our mother sitting them down to watch a new…

5 days ago