Because of the social framework and expectations of families, many young people in Japan do not dare to say what they think to their loved ones. This has facilitated a “strange profession” to develop.
“Listening to others is a hobby”
Takanobu Nishimoto and his colleagues are middle-aged Japanese men who are doing a very special job, that is to rent … their “ears”.
Mr. Nishimoto’s customers are diverse, ranging from lonely retirees to sad girls who are disillusioned. They went to Mr. Takanobu Nishimoto’s service because they needed a good listener.
According to AFP, there is a common feature among Takanobu Nishimoto’s customers that they never bear to “confide” with psychologists, and even more dangerous is that even with relatives in the family, they did not say anything.
Anyone who needs to clear things that cannot be said to friends or relatives can sign up to an “ossan” (a term used to refer to an “uncle” between the ages of 45 and 55 ) online to listen to me for 1,000 yen (10 USD) per hour.
“For me, this listening service is a hobby, a passion rather than a job,” said Takanobu Nishimoto.
Mr. Nishimoto came up with the idea of doing this service four years ago and up to now, his service network has attracted about 60 members who are middle-aged men living all over Japan. family.
“The original idea that came to my mind was just to raise the image of men of my age who might not be young and not take things too seriously,” Mr. Takanobu Nishimoto said.
The 48-year-old, still a professional fashion assistant, said he listened to the stories of 30 to 40 customers a month and about 70% of them were women.
“Customers usually only hire me for about one to two hours, mainly to hear them confide,” Nishimoto said.
All kinds of customers come to “lend their ears” service.
In the story with the reporter, he also talked about the special case of a woman about 80 years old. Grandma had “ordered” him to walk around the park with his tools every week. This made him feel like he became his son.
His customers are very diverse, when he was a fisherman who did not like to sit silently alone waiting for the fish to bite, when he was an aspiring student engaged in entertainment but not supported by his family.
Sometimes, it may be an experienced young employee who does not know how to deal with his immediate superior.
However, Mr. Takanobu Nishimoto’s customers are not people who isolate themselves from society or have difficulty adjusting to society.
They came to this service simply to forget the expectations of their families and friends who weighed on their shoulders and were free to express their views on various issues that they normally couldn’t say. out.
This, according to psychologists, is especially helpful to Japanese people when they are always molded by the role models of society and being held by others’ expectations.
Japan has been faced with many problems arising from the situation of self-isolation with society, among them the phenomenon of “hikikomori” (temporarily called autism syndrome in the room) often occurs with young people.
These people do not want to leave the house, refuse to communicate, just like to hang around in the house playing video games, surfing or simply sitting in a room doing nothing.
Hyodo Nodoka Hyodo, a 24-year-old customer, after the talk with Mr. Nishimoto shared:
“Being in contact with different people, I am a completely different person. When I am with my friends, with my family or with my boyfriend, my” I “seems to change with every object I come in contact with.
I always have to create a different “I” in relationships. But here, I don’t need to do that anymore because I’m talking to a complete stranger. Thanks to him, I feel better. “
Opinion of expert on “lend ear” service in Japan
Psychologist Hiroaki Enomoto emphasized in Japanese society, there are social rules that regulate what can be said and cannot say, even with extremely close relationships.
“When there is a new problem arises, you find it difficult to speak to someone because they may not be the right people to confide in. You don’t know how to express the story either. annoys others.
But if you hire someone to listen, then that relationship becomes a buying relationship, so there are other principles. You can unleash whatever you want to say” said Enomoto.
Over the past few years, there are many companies in Japan that offer “renting” services to pay by the hour.
Customers can hire employees of these companies to make fake friends, fake relatives or fake lovers to attend various social events such as funerals, weddings, parties. Some people hire people simply to vote in solitude when they get old.
Nishimoto said he had several times considered stopping the service, but he discovered that he himself needed his customers as they needed him.
“I don’t know exactly what they need when they hire me, and of course it’s a bit scary but that’s also the point that makes this job interesting.
Honestly, I have never met a “monster” customer. On the contrary, I experienced a lot of different emotions” Nishimoto said.