He takes his customers to the playground or just waves at them: a Japanese allows himself to be paid for just being there.
You can book Shoji Morimoto as an escort for just under 70 francs.
For many people it would probably be a dream: to do nothing and get paid for it.
In Japan, a man actually earns his money this way: His name is Shoji Morimoto, he is 38 years old and lives in Tokyo. His customers can book him for a meeting for just under 70 francs – even if he just sits next to them.
Morimoto told the news agency that he had held about 4,000 such meetings in the past few years Reuters. Once he was ordered to a playground to go seesaw, another time he waved to a stranger from a train who wished him a nice farewell. Only recently he accompanied a young woman to tea in the city. He says she wanted to wear a sari, an Indian wrap dress; but she feared that her friends would be ashamed of her.
Apparently, many people in Japan value the fact that Morimoto is just with them. The fact that he is successful with his service is only surprising at first glance. Japan has been struggling with the increasing loneliness of its citizens for decades – the fact that Morimoto is booked only shows that the problem is serious.
In Japanese there is even a special term for deep loneliness: Hikikomori, which means something like “lock yourself in”. He describes people who completely withdraw from society. They do not go to school or work and only leave their homes for essentials. Some stay with their parents, sometimes for decades. studies estimate that more than a million people between the ages of 15 and 64 live in isolation in Japan. The pandemic has exacerbated this problem. In a poll this spring, nearly 40 percent of all respondents said they were lonely; young and middle-aged people were particularly affected.
The reasons for withdrawing from society are complex, in Japan the tight labor market is one aspect. The country has still not overcome the consequences of the recession in the 1990s. Many people lost their jobs at the time, others, especially boys, were unable to start their careers. Traditional goals such as diligence, a career or starting a family were suddenly called into question – or no longer attainable.
Morimoto says it’s perfectly okay to do nothing: “People don’t necessarily have to make themselves useful.” Nobody wants to be alone. And some people even charge for it if necessary.