top notch journalism, I couldn't stop until I read the entire article, not skipping any paragraph. the whole thing is just an interview/dialogue, but it's incredibly captivating also, you could make three separate movies on existentialism just with ideas from the article. lastly - the interviewee, he must have such strong philosophical dilemmas
The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
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Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#112That is so much different than Renting a Friend....
Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#113Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#114Earlier quoted context omitted.
Same here. I can't help but wonder about the ethical implications of lying to a child about something so fundamental for her entire lifetime.
We generally think it's ethically acceptable not to tell a child that they were adopted for a long while (possibly into adulthood), or not to tell a child that their biological father wasn't their mother's husband. We also find it ethically acceptable for a couple not to ask who fathered their own child. We also generally find it ethically acceptable to form and especially continue relationships based on factors othe…
"We also generally find it ethically acceptable to form and especially continue relationships based on factors other than true love, including stability of a family environment and economic stability" In this case, both of the people involved are grown adults and usually know reasonably well what's going on.
The real problem here is how deep a break of trust this would be if they ever found out, and how wrong of an idea this would give ppl of relationships.
Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#115Earlier quoted context omitted.
Now imagine a future technology where you could undergo some hypnosis / gaslighting treatment to forget you even hired this person. I.e. pay a lot of money in advance, it's invested and the actor gets paid from the interest. You undergo memory treatment, and now your mother who you see once a week is real as far as you know, but really she's an actor you hired years back because your actual mother died.
This was explored (all the way to its grim dystopian conclusion) in tv series Dollhouse. Might want to check it out.
Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
This was explored (all the way to its grim dystopian conclusion) in tv series Dollhouse. Might want to check it out.
I only watched the first season, but wasn't it the reverse of the suggestion?
Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#117In Japanese business culture, there is a situation where you have to visit a company and say I’m deeply sorry for what I did and just bow and bow. Usually, I accompany a salaryman who made a mistake. I take the identity of the salaryman myself, then I apologize profusely for his mistake. Have you seen the way we say sorry? You go have to down on your hands and knees on the floor. Your hands have to tremble. So, my cl…
Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#118[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B06Y1JVLD4 [2] https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2016/04/17/national/day-ca... [3] https://www.npr.org/sections/parallels/2016/01/05/460801951/...
Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#119Re: The Booming Japanese Rent-A-Friend Business
#120Can someone confirm that this is real? It reads like (dismal) satire.
Having been living in Japan for 4 years, i doubt this is fake. Loneliness is huge problems in Japan, you just can't become friends with stranger