Rent-A-Friend

Imagine this: You’re supposed to go to a party where your ex-boyfriend is going to show up. You’re not dating anyone, but wouldn’t it be great to walk in on the arm of some handsome hunk? Well, for a price, now you can. It sounds like the plot of a bad sitcom, but it’s also real life – at least in Japan.

The Guardian UK reports that the rent-a-friend business is booming in Japan. The industry has doubled in the last eight years with about 10 agencies now offering the service. The largest, Office Agent, has about 1,000 clients. For about $200, you can rent someone to show up as your date to the Christmas party, give the best man toast at your wedding, even pretend to be your husband if you’re not ready to break the divorce news to your coworkers.

One of the most popular requests: The global recession coupled with the Japanese cultural aversion to airing your bad news has led to a surge in unemployed clients asking for fake bosses. Avoid the stigma attached to being unemployed by paying to get berated in front of your friends! Is there nothing you can’t buy these days?

Photo courtesy Foundphotoslj, via Flickr.