#91 -Rental Person Who Does Nothing by Shoji Morimoto

Another choice from our "A Book I Love" evening from Toby.

Need a rental person who does nothing?

Shoji Morimoto provides a fascinating service to the lonely and socially anxious. After an old boss told him that he contributed nothing and that it made no difference whether he showed up to work or not, he wondered if a person who ‘does nothing’ could still have a place in the world. With a tweet, his Rental Person service was born.

• Have a deep secret you desperately need to reveal, so deep that you can’t tell a friend or family member?
• Have you spent a long time home alone, and want to know what it’s like to have somebody with you at your apartment?
• Or for someone to simply think of you on a stressful day? Or wave to you as you leave the train station on a long journey?

Morimoto is dependable, non-judgmental and committed to remaining a stranger throughout each request, and his encounters are revelatory about both Japanese society and human psychology.