Japan's 'Rent a Friend' Agencies

Japan represents a unique phenomenon within the modern globalized world. It has quickly adopted capitalist norms, all the while maintaining its traditional values. From the point of view of human relationships, this societal mix’n’match has produced a breakdown–Japan’s population suffers from chronic loneliness.

Culturally-speaking, Japanese culture is embedded with an overachieving need to work, which occupies most of its citizens’ time. However, within the country’s modern metropolises, the traditional Japanese forms of creating social ties is rendered obsolete. The conclusion? Japanese citizens are surround by people and, despite this, are completely alone.

The Internet, chat apps and social networks help ease the strain of its population’s social situation, but the innovative Japanese have found the perfect solution in an industry as old as time: escorting. For many of its citizens, hiring an escort has become their only way of socializing with others.

In the last ten years, the number of such escort agencies, commonly known as rent-a-friend agencies, has doubled. The best known, Office Agent, employs 1,000 people, both men and women of all ages. Although the social problem in Japan is quite real and looks like it’s here to stay, escorting has turned out to be the quickest and most direct solution. Considering the ever-expanding globalization phenomenon that is enveloping the world, Japan seems to be paving the way to an efficient and real cure to loneliness.