As we look for fresh starts in the new year — finding ways to be fitter, happier, more productive — one Tokyo man is filling his calendar with a new year of nothing.
Shoji Morimoto, better known by the moniker “Rental Person” (“rentaru nanmo shinai hito” in Japanese), quite literally does nothing for a living. He hires himself out as an empty human form that will only do simple tasks and give no opinions. In return, he asks that clients cover any transportation or meal costs incurred during the request — and, of course, that they don’t ask him to do anything.
Morimoto’s memoir was released in the United States on Jan. 9 as “Rental Person Who Does Nothing,” with English translation by Don Knotting. In it, he describes his journey over the past five years to becoming a professional blank page, citing his own posts on X (formerly Twitter), where he reflects on his transactions to nearly half a million followers.