How far would you be willing to go to save face at an important social event? Or to feel less lonely in a period where many are struggling with isolation? Some people would turn to a trusted family member or friend. But for others, it may seem more worthwhile to simply hire someone to play that role. Enter the ‘rental family’, an unusual but real trend in Japan that allows you to rent stand-in family members.
There is a lot of social stigma associated with deviation from the ‘norms’, especially around work, success, and family structure. In the 1970s, that ‘norm’ was the typical nuclear family. A bread-winning father, a stay-at-home-mom, and, of course, children. The children would eventually grow up to build a nuclear family of their own, often before their thirties. However, fast forward a few decades, and we are now looking at a very different household structure. Nowadays, people are marrying later, having fewer children, and struggling to find jobs. Many are either living with their parents, with roommates, or alone. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research predicts that single-person households will account for nearly 40% of all household types in Japan by 2040. [1]
Table of Contents
ToggleWhat Is A Rental Family? How Does It Work?
This movement away from the typical family structure has created a new kind of business: the rental family. This service allows the client to hire a paid actor as a stand-in family member for a variety of reasons. From parents to siblings, to spouses and significant others, there’s no end to the roles a family-for-hire actor can play.
However, renting a family member can also be quite the investment. A one-day event can cost hundreds of dollars. The average price is around 15,000 yen to 30,000 yen per person (roughly $150-300 USD) for a few hours. You can specify preferences such as age, body type, and fashion style. So, while some may find it worthwhile, hiring rental family members is a bit of a financial commitment. [2]

Who Uses A Rental Family?
A common misconception is that only lonely people struggling with real family relationships or suffering from isolation use these services. Indeed, a high number of rent-a-family clients are single individuals with no close friends or relatives. However, people of all ages, genders, and statuses rent stand-ins for a number of reasons.
Some clients need a family member or guest to accompany them to ceremonies and gatherings. Others hire the actors as ‘friends’ to go to events or to spend holidays with. Some simply want to ‘try out’ what it would feel like to have a spouse, a family, or siblings.
Both married and unmarried people can use the service. Unmarried people can hire a stand-in spouse or significant other to simulate a relationship for a day. Married people can hire friend or sibling roles to spend time with on a day off. As an adult, regardless of marital status, it is often harder to make friends naturally. Rent-a-family actors can help people fill that gap.
Are Rental Families More Trouble Than They’re Worth?
Meetings can occur at event venues, at the client’s home, or at a location the client wants to visit. Most users enjoy the no-strings-attached approach and the level of customizability. However, that short-lived social support does come with a warning label.
Rental family members are professional actors who have no problem adapting to their roles. The big issue lies in the user’s own behavior. The clients themselves are usually not actors. It can be challenging to act naturally when knowingly deceiving your real family.
How will you respond when your real aunts and uncles ask you to introduce your hired spouse? What will you do if your friends establish a relationship of their own? One must consider how their lives will play out after the event is over, and several months down the line. Can you hire the same person if you’re invited to another event and asked to bring them along?
An older Japanese drama, Kotaki Brothers and Shikuhakku, explores the world of rental families, following the adventures of two very different brothers who find themselves in the business. While the scenarios in the drama are fiction, they are situations that can (and sometimes do) happen. Each episode features a different client with a different story, with each brother handling the situation in their own way.
The Dishonesty Factor
A 2019 survey by Insight Tech Lab asked 1,400 people (700 men, 700 women) their opinions on rental family services. The biggest reason people would not use a rental family service was simply, “I don’t want to lie”.[3]
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Surely there is a level of guilt that comes with deceiving your real friends and family. The truth coming out could cause even more awkwardness than simply going alone. But for one company, dishonesty cost them their entire reputation.
Rent-a-family company Family Romance made headlines both in Japan and overseas. Their story featured a single mother, Reiko, who regularly hired a stand-in father, Mr. Inaba, for her daughter over the course of nine years, without ever telling her daughter the truth. While this story of deception may raise a few eyebrows, it won the New York Times the much-coveted National Magazine Award in 2019, and sparked interest all over the world regarding the rental family trend. Japanese broadcasting company NHK also featured Family Romance in a documentary, ‘Inside Lens’. Famed film director Werner Herzog even based a film on the company’s founder, Yuichi Ishii, which premiered at Cannes in 2019. [4][5]
However, a major real-life plot twist revealed that not only was Reiko not a single mother, she wasn’t even a client! And not only was she was married to Mr. Inaba in real life, but Mr. Inaba was also none other than founder Ishii himself! The sham led to an apology by the NHK and to the New York Times returning their award. (And, of course, a tarnished reputation for Family Romance). [6]

Rental Families Still In Demand
Despite this unfortunate instance, the rental family service is still in demand. Although those stories on TV ended up being mere fabrications, one fact remains. There are still many people off-camera who feel a need for the service. And luckily, there are plenty other companies out there that have proven to be more trustworthy.
One such example goes above and beyond by providing services to support a cause. New Start is a non-profit Rent-a-Sister organization dedicated to providing support to hikikomori, or people who suffer from extreme social withdrawal. (I previously wrote about Japan’s hikikomori here, and more recently covered the shady hikidashiya company whose harsh tactics lead to the tragic death of clients).
New Start, however, is different. They don’t force shut-ins out of their home, and they don’t use violent methods, or to try to ‘reform’ them. ‘Rental sisters’ provide similar services as rental families, acting as a support system to gently coax clients out of withdrawal. Rental sisters cost around 100,000 yen/month (roughly 1,000 USD) for weekly, hour-long visits. They also operate a dormitory where hikikomori can mingle with others and slowly return to society again through volunteer work. About 80% of clients have successfully re-established themselves. [8]
This video from BBC offers a behind-the-scenes look at rent-a-sisters in action:
Rent-a-sister: Coaxing Japan’s hikikomori men out of their bedrooms – BBC News
At least half a million young men in Japan are thought to have withdrawn from society, and refuse to leave their bedrooms. They’re known as hikikomori. Their families often don’t know what to do, but one organisation is offering ‘sisters for hire’ to help coax these young men out of their isolation.
As of 2019, New Start helped around 1,500 people of the estimated 800,000 hikikomori through support activities and ‘hikikomori therapy’. This is a form of cognitive-behavioral therapy that seeks to promote greater self-understanding within clients. [9]
Other Rental Family Trends
There exist a number of other ‘rental-people’ for various needs beyond family gatherings and emotional support. One very specific service is ‘Debucari’, literally ‘fat person rental’. (Note: I use the word ‘fat’ here as officially designated by the company themselves. It is in no way meant to shame people who are overweight).
The company is an offshoot of a plus-sized men’s clothing store, Qzilla by Mr Bliss. Their goal is to move away from the negative stereotypes that come with being overweight.
While it may seem an unusual request, there are several reasons one might want to rent someone who is overweight. Companies can hire plus-sized models for TV, photoshoots, and clothing ads. Individuals may have more personal reasons, such as seeking personal health advice, selecting a gift for an overweight friend or family member, someone to cosplay an overweight character with, or even just someone to enjoy eating at a restaurant with. [10]
The ‘Do-Nothing’ Rental Man
Perhaps no service has made headlines over the past few years like Japan’s ‘do-nothing man’. Shoji Morimoto (aka ‘Rental-san’) rents himself out with one catch: he doesn’t have to do anything.
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Formerly a hikikomori in college, Morimoto always struggled with the feeling that he just wasn’t good at anything. Devoid of any real motivation or interests, he eventually realized the one thing he enjoyed doing was nothing at all. [11]
So what kind of clients would pay someone for, well, nothing? His most common requests come not from the lonely or isolated. They come from people who don’t want to burden friends and family with trivial tasks. Some want to vent about issues they don’t can’t share with family due to concern, judgment, or embarrassment. Others just want someone to accompany them to a place they find difficult to enter alone. Already quiet and non-expressive by nature, Morimoto maintains that character while on the clock, wearing his signature hat and hoodie (and blank stare). Unlike the typical rental family service, he sells his presence – and nothing more.
Rental Families: Necessity or Temporary Fix?
Referring back to the survey, although the majority were skeptical about rental families, they did express a desire for interpersonal relationships. However, a meaningful relationship isn’t something one can buy, not even with a rental family service. [3]
The topic of rental families can be controversial. No individual can judge whether such a service is bad or good. But for many, it is a service that saves face, offers support, and fills a gap, even if only temporary. The key, however, is understanding that it is only temporary.
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References
[1] Playing House: the Rent-a-Family business in Japan. Medium
[2] レンタル家族サービスとは?結婚式トラブルが多い?値段・メリット・デメリットは? 話のネタ.
[3] 人レンタルはいけないこと? Insight Tech Lab
[4] NHK「レンタル家族」やらせ騒動 元スタッフが明かす「依頼者を演じたのは私」. Daily Shincho
[5] How The New Yorker Fell Into the “Weird Japan” Trap. The New Republic
[6] New Yorker returns award for Japan ‘rental family’ story. New York Post
[7] ニュースタート事務局. NPO New Start
[8] Rent-a-Sister in Japan: Getting to Know Hikikomori. Japan 360
[9] How Is Hikikomori Therapy Applied?. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
[10] 体重100kg以上の「デブ」がレンタルできる珍サービス「デブカリ」がスタート! PR Times
[11] 嫌なことはしないで生きる「レンタルなんもしない人」の覚悟. 不登校新聞