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INTEREST: Need Someone to Talk To? Rent a Friend


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Thatguy3331



Joined: 18 Feb 2012
Posts: 1799
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:22 pm Reply with quote
...I don't know how to respond to this...
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Surrender Artist



Joined: 01 May 2011
Posts: 3264
Location: Pennsylvania, USA
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:30 pm Reply with quote
Japan... just... just seems so sad. I almost want to give it a hug.

I bet I could get them to pay me to do it.
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Sarukah



Joined: 13 May 2006
Posts: 160
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:30 pm Reply with quote
This sounds fantastic, but I just worry for their safety Sad All it takes is one determined psychopath.
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Shenl742



Joined: 11 Feb 2010
Posts: 1525
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:33 pm Reply with quote
So....that Frescourt episode of Pushing Daisies actually came partly true...
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Sailor S





PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:40 pm Reply with quote
So, sounds like it's roughly $40 an hour. Probably cheaper than going with an escort service, and if sex isn't your primary reason for renting one (and it seems a lot of people in Japan aren't interested in it anyways) then I suppose if you need a date for a night, but don't want to have a recurring relationship, then I suppose that's reasonable enough.
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ArthurFrDent



Joined: 05 Aug 2008
Posts: 466
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:43 pm Reply with quote
cheaper n' therapy... if all you need is someone to talk with... I especially liked the picture of the older guy who outlived his wife... there is a profound loneliness to that anywhere, but if you don't have a ton of friends to fall back on? This might be a good thing.

If you've ever worked retail, or hospitality, occasionally you get a customer who talks your ear off... and you realize they don't care how well the microwave works, or if they have to buy another cuppa... they're just lonely.

happens here too.
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LinkSword



Joined: 06 Jun 2013
Posts: 188
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:47 pm Reply with quote
Usefulness for certain people aside, this is quite sad stuff.

"Rent a Friend"... that pretty much goes radically against the idea of what friendship should be about.
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Tylerr



Joined: 13 Nov 2010
Posts: 475
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:58 pm Reply with quote
So no sex?
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rheiders



Joined: 05 Jul 2011
Posts: 1137
Location: Colorful Colorado :)
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 7:59 pm Reply with quote
There's something profoundly sad about this, especially in that last image with the man who outlived his wife and doesn't have friends to fall back on. People saying this is just Japan being weird and anti-social again apparently have never met anyone like that man. There was a time after my grandpa's death that my grandma was very desperately lonely, with her relatives all in different states and many of them unwilling to visit her even on holidays. I think a service like this probably would have seemed very appealing to someone like her at a time like that.
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Sobe



Joined: 04 Jun 2011
Posts: 886
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:11 pm Reply with quote
Only in Japan.
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penguintruth



Joined: 08 Dec 2004
Posts: 8501
Location: Penguinopolis
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:23 pm Reply with quote
I'd rather talk to myself than pay somebody to pretend they're my friend. Where are these people's dignity?

Last edited by penguintruth on Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:34 pm; edited 1 time in total
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mdo7



Joined: 23 May 2007
Posts: 6394
Location: Katy, Texas, USA
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:27 pm Reply with quote
This reminds me of a Kotaku article I read last year, I think Brian Ashcraft, Kotaku's Japan expert can give you more insight that relate to this ANN article.

Thatguy3331 wrote:
...I don't know how to respond to this...


Yeah I would be the same, but Japan really sadden me with this. Crying or Very sad
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firedragon54738



Joined: 24 Sep 2007
Posts: 3113
Location: wisconsin
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:29 pm Reply with quote
First sle nep with a girl and now rent a friend so what isext grandma how cooking
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Blood-
Bargain Hunter



Joined: 07 Mar 2009
Posts: 24153
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 8:32 pm Reply with quote
Quote:
In an interview by the Asahi Shimbum, one of the company's returning clients said he at first balked at the idea of paying for a hang-out partner. However, after several strained encounters with an ex-girlfriend that ended with a threat of a restraining order, he decided to give Client Partners a shot.


Garsh, I can't imagine why he needs to rent a friend.

Anyway, y'all, Blood- Friendship Industries is now open for bidniz. I think you'll find my rates very reasonable. No spooning, sorry.
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Soundmonkey44



Joined: 25 May 2010
Posts: 1243
PostPosted: Tue Oct 29, 2013 9:01 pm Reply with quote
This.... Is kind of .... I don't know what to say really. I guess I find it sad there's people desperate enough to pay for people to talk to. Crying or Very sad

Real friends listen to the BS you spout out your mouth for free! Laughing
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