Humans are social beings. Nobody can live alone. Every person needs to have a friend, someone with who to talk or buddies to have a jolly time. If you are a lonely person, this can be a real problem. Some of us simply don’t have any success in making friends or to get emotionally close to someone. There are some others who want to have some good time with people without too many personal questions or any level of implications. For these types of people, in Japan, a new trend has evolved: companies that can supply you a rented friend.

In any problematic situation if a companion is needed, you can get one with a simple call to one of these companies. You can get a rented actor even to play the role of boy friend or girl friend for a while. To improve your image in your neighborhood, new and shiny “Bob –the rented friend” may be introduced as your friend. Of course, they don’t need to know the truth. Even if you need someone to sit and read books with you, play chess or billiard, or to share your hobbies rent-a-friend will be the perfect solution.

Those who play the role of rented-friends are good actors, specially chosen from hundreds of candidates. They will play their role with utmost perfection until the curtains are drawn. No one will ever notice that he isn’t a real friend. At times you too may forget this fact. This is a form of social service because it helps people to fight the loneliness which is especially true for people of old age. Rent- a –friend services assure a perfect solution to fill the social void of those who, for a reason or another, have a problem with it. The great thing about rented friends is that he won’t be capricious. If you want to make something wacky he won’t judge you or ask you why. He wills simply ask you when you want to do this and what he should do. He won’t ask you about your secret personal problems or about your economic status.

Paying to be a friend may not sound that good but, in practice it helps you in many a situation when you need somebody with you to help you and be your support even it is only for a short time. It is similar to paying your physician to take care of your physical health; the rented friend assures you a perfect companionship that takes care of your mental health.

This trend started in Japan as a way to combat the traditional life methods that was damaging the personal intimacy of people. The founder of one of the first rent-a-friend companies, Ryuichi Ichinokawa, said that this is a normal response of the traditional rules adapted to the modern way of life.

This idea was also described in a film that showed how important is the presence of a friend in someone’s life and how sensitive it can be in solving this problem. The film was named “I love you man”.