Sunday, October 11, 2009

Your eHow of the Day

eHow - How To Do Just About Everything eHow of the Day

How to Rent a Friend

by Amy Kniss

Tired of going stag to company functions? Sick of wearing your single-parent status too visibly at the parent-teacher conference? Find yourself dreading events when you have to go it alone?

If so, Japan may have an answer for you. There a new a new type of "social service" industry is helping folks fill their social void, according to the The Guardian. Renting a friend, or professional stand-in, is a logical and effective Japanese solution to singledom issues -- particularly for those who prefer to keep their dirty laundry closeted, along with their marital status, sexual orientation and employment history.

Ryuichi Ichinokawa, founder of one of Japan's first rent-a-friend agencies, says he feels Japan̢۪s traditions and formal culture drive many of its citizens to push personal problems out of public view. So even if keeping personal proclivities private requires hiring a professional to fill in the gaps, it's worth the price.

Ichinokawa has seen first-hand the growing popularity of the faux friend agencies since founding Hagemashi Tai (or I Want to Cheer You Up) three years ago. In the beginning, Ichinokawa played all the roles himself, but now he employs more than 30 "friends" who, for a pre-arranged rate, will fill almost any social role: friend, relative, colleague, spouse, parent, classmate, even best man.

It's a situation that made its way to the big screen in the 2009 movie "I Love You Man" when groom-to-be Peter Klaven realizes he has no close male friends and holds a series of misguided "man-dates" to try to find someone to fulfill the best man role. While funny, the agitating awkwardness that ensues demonstrates that renting a friend or "professional stand-in" may be the more sensible and efficient solution - not to mention far less emotionally draining.

Here's how you can go about renting a friend to fill that social void.

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