TOKYO. According to most, Shoji Morimoto has a dream job. He gets paid to do next to nothing. The 38-year-old resident of the Japanese capital charges 70 euros per meeting to accompany his clients and offer them his friendship. “The easiest way to describe my job is: I rent myself out. My job is to be where the client asks me to be and not do anything special,” says Morimoto, who says he has “managed” about 4,000 sessions over the past four years. The 38-year-old now has 250,000 “followers” on Twitter, where he gets to know his clientele. Almost one in four of her clients is a regular.

His job recently took him to a playground where, as an adult, he wanted the company to play on the swings. On another “date”, Morimoto went to the train window to greet the passenger at the window who paid him for this fake goodbye. However, the 38-year-old has clear boundaries. He refused to help move the refrigerator, to go with a client to Cambodia, having previously ruled out a proposal of a sexual nature.

His job recently took him to a playground where, as an adult, he wanted the company to play on the swings.

Last week, Morimoto sat opposite 27-year-old computer expert Aruna Chinda, who hired him because she was embarrassed to go out in an Indian sari. Morimoto’s presence in the café gave her the confidence to wear the desired dress. “With my friends, I feel the need to be pleasant and talkative. However, when I’m with a ‘tenant’, I don’t feel the need to talk,” says Chida.

Morimoto discovered his unique talent while working at a publishing house. There he was often criticized for idleness. “I started to wonder what would happen if I took my ability to do nothing and sold it as a service to clients,” he explains. The escort is Morimoto’s only income, on which he maintains his wife and child. Although he refuses to disclose his earnings, he says he typically “sees” three to four clients a day. “It’s legal to do nothing. People don’t have to be helpful all the time,” Morimoto emphasizes.