The true life adventures of Shoji Morimoto, who launched a business in which he rents himself out to do nothing in Japan.

Today, I''m starting a ''rent a person who does nothing'' service . . . Except for very simple conversation, I''m afraid I can do nothing. Shoji Morimoto was constantly being told that he was a ''do-nothing'' because he lacked initiative. Dispirited and unemployed, it occurred to him that if he was so good at doing nothing, perhaps he could turn it into a business. And with one tweet, he began his business of renting himself out . . . to do nothing. Morimoto, aka Rental Person, provides a fascinating service to the lonely and socially anxious. Sitting with a client undergoing surgery, accompanying a newly-divorced client to her favourite restaurant, visiting the site of a client''s suicide attempt are just a few of his thousands of true life adventures. He is dependable, non-judgmental and committed to remaining a stranger and the curious encounters he shares are revelatory about both Japanese society and human psychology. In Rental Person Who Does Nothing , Morimoto chronicles his extraordinary experiences in his unique line of work and reflects on how we consider relationships, jobs and family in our search for meaningful connection and purpose in life.

Autorentext
Shoji Morimoto was born in 1983. He began working as a rental person who does nothing in 2018 and has since been hired more than 4,000 times. He’s been profiled by many media outlets worldwide and has written several books including Rental Person Who Does Nothing, which inspired a Japanese TV series. Morimoto lives in Japan with his wife and son.

Klappentext

Originally published in Japan in 2019, it is the chronicle of how, in June 2018, 35-year-old Morimoto Shoji, known as "Rental Person?, started a peculiar service: he will do anything - seeing you off when moving, sharing a soda with you, being alongside when submitting divorce papers, watching a baseball game with you, even accompanying somebody as they have hemorrhoid removal surgery- so long as it conforms to his one and only requirement that he "do nothing?. Since then, he has been rented by more than 4 thousand people, and his Twitter following is over 235,000. Reflecting on his unusual rental experiences, the book uncovers his thoughts on what may be a new movement in how we look at work, relationships and life, and how we often have trouble talking about the things most important to us, with the people closest to us. The story has appeared on The Washington Post and several other media outlets worldwide