Feeling lonely? Feeling stressed? Then perhaps what you need to do is sit down and have a date with an ugly guy. Yes, that's right: this is the idea behind the Rental Busaiku ("ugly-for-rent") service, in which one self-professed unattractive guy hires himself to all takers. Specifically, he mentions that his services are useful to be the wingman-type role in group dates (gokon), so he can be assigned to sit with any members of the opposite sex that the organizers worry may not get attention otherwise and/or to allow the other guys to focus on the women they want to score. Launched in July ...

Virtual dating has long been a big part of the adult industry or quasi-adult industry in Japan. What with all the reports of sexless Japan and "parasite singles" still living with their parents well into their thirties, you might almost be forgiven for thinking that "virtual boyfriends" apps and digital idols were responsible for the downfall of the nation. There were more examples at Tokyo Game Show 2016 that will surely not do much for Japan's reputation in this regard. The show featured an array of otome romance apps for ladies to find that Prince Charming in 2D form. One ...

Rental companion services have been around in Japan for a long time, but occasionally a new service or some news appears. Ria Kare offers to cheer up the lonely ladies of Nagoya, starting at ¥5,000 an hour (actually cheaper than most host or hostess clubs). For some apparently random reason, it got an arbitrary write-up by the "wacky-Japan" bloggers at RocketNews 24, so we thought we'd followed suit. The demographic is certainly interesting here. You can choose a male rental companion aged as wizened as 57, so it's not just the stereotypical flashy young host types. The ...

Boyfriend "rental" services have been around in Japan for a while and there are even virtual versions. You can get "old guys", young guys, and of course there are female equivalents too. It's not so different from the douhan system, where a host or hostess goes on a date with a client before taking them to the club for (expensive) drinks. Kotaku reported on a Japanese morning TV segment showcasing boyfriend rental services. Although the subject isn't new, there were some interesting nuggets of information. While there are much cheaper options out there, this service was ...

While the Tokyo Game Show last weekend ultimately did not feature Sony's divisive "Summer Lesson" demo for the Project Morpheus HMD headset, it did have some virtual boyfriends instead. One booth at TGS 2014 showcased virtual dating and romance apps so women could get their perfect partner. The only snag is that the man in question does not exist in reality. Voltage Romance Apps features a series of smartphone social apps with fake boyfriends for lonely women. They even have English-language versions adapted for North American audiences. The average user is a 30-year-old Japanese ...

For around ¥4,000 an hour you can have a girlfriend or boyfriend. Well, you can have what's nice about having a partner without the physical stuff, at any rate. Rental friends have been around for a while in many places and the ones in Japan have often disproportionately been given space by the foreign media. Obviously they are a fringe service for certain types of people who need extra bods at weddings and so on. How much truth is there in the coverage? Well, the services do exist, that's for sure, and they are often more innocent (and innovative) than you might think. We read an ...