Japan's Rental Family Industry Rental Family
Rental Family is based on a real Japanese industry that has operated since the early 1990s. Companies hire professional actors to serve as stand-in relatives, friends, and partners for clients who need human connection at weddings, funerals, family gatherings, school events, and everyday life. The industry's existence reflects structural features of Japanese society -- stigma around mental health, norms discouraging emotional expression, and the dissolution of extended family networks -- that the film dramatizes without judging.
The first documented service launched in 1991 as a corporate training spinoff
Japan Efficiency Corporation (Nihon Kokasei Honbu), founded by Satsuki Oiwa in 1987 to train corporate employees, launched the first known rental family service in the fall of 1991. After hearing clients complain about unsatisfactory relationships, Oiwa began offering professional actors for what he called "soft service -- reaching others with a sympathetic heart." By May 1992, the company had 21 active clients, 84 on a waiting list, and over 400 applicants seeking employment as stand-ins. (wikipedia-rental-service)
Oiwa characterized the cultural shift driving demand: "Japan has been a country where adults express their love with material gifts." Clients, he argued, were rediscovering what they had lost -- genuine human connection -- after realizing material possessions alone could not fulfill emotional needs.
Family Romance LLC became the industry's most visible company
Family Romance, founded by Yuichi Ishii, is the most prominent operator and the company that attracted international media attention. The company's name references Freud's 1908 concept of "family romance" -- the childhood fantasy of being the offspring of people with higher social standing. Ishii has been candid about the ethical complexities:
The company launched the "Real Appeal" service in 2017, providing clients with actors to pose in photographs meant for social media at 8,000 yen per hour with a two-hour minimum. Family Romance also stages full wedding ceremonies two to three times annually at approximately 5,000,000 yen each. (wikipedia-rental-service)
Werner Herzog made a feature film about the company -- Family Romance, LLC (2019) -- starring Ishii himself. The two films take notably different approaches to the same subject: Herzog's is a quasi-documentary that blurs the line between observation and performance; Hikari's is a narrative comedy-drama that uses the industry as a vehicle for a story about loneliness and self-discovery. (dazed)
The industry serves clients across a wider range than the film depicts
Real rental family clients include lonely individuals, people in social withdrawal (hikikomori), single adults fearing parental judgment, professionals needing networking appearances, and people seeking non-judgmental emotional outlets. Contrary to the assumption that only isolated people use these services, clients span all ages, genders, and marital statuses. Some clients simply prefer relationships unburdened by social expectations. (unseenjapan)
Costs range from 15,000 to 30,000 yen ($150-300 USD) per person for several hours, with customizable options for age, body type, and appearance. By 2009, approximately ten rental family agencies operated in Japan. The National Institute of Population and Social Security Research projects that single-person households will comprise nearly 40% of all Japanese household types by 2040 -- a demographic trajectory that suggests demand for these services will grow. (unseenjapan)
The New Yorker's 2018 article raised credibility concerns about media coverage
Much Western awareness of the industry came from Elif Batuman's 2018 New Yorker article. However, The New Republic reported that three central figures in the story had "made false biographical claims to Batuman and to a fact checker," undermining the veracity of key sections. The New Yorker maintained that the story retained value "as an exploration of ideas of family in Japan and more widely." The episode illustrates a recurring problem in Western coverage of the industry: the subject is strange enough to attract sensational reporting, and the operators themselves are professional performers who may not distinguish between their real and performed identities. (newrepublic)
Hikari learned about the industry from her American co-writer, not from Japanese culture
Despite growing up in Japan, Hikari (Rental Family) had never heard of the rental family business until co-writer Stephen Blahut discovered it while researching jobs for Americans in Japan. Hikari explained the cultural roots:
"Mental health is very challenging and it's not really accessible for a lot of people in Japan. So therefore this business exists." -- Hikari, IndieWire (2025)
"There's a word called 'honne,' which is a true feeling and 'honne' is a thought. So we were taught not to show your true emotions but always keep it [inside] to create harmony." -- Hikari, IndieWire (2025)
The industry has spread beyond Japan
Similar services have appeared in South Korea (wedding guest rentals since the late 1990s), France (a 2007 site connecting children with surrogate grandparents), the United States (Scott Rosenbaum's Rent-a-Friend, founded in October 2009), and China (where companies hired foreign workers as "business partners" and girlfriend rental apps emerged for holiday periods). The Japanese model remains the most developed and culturally embedded. (wikipedia-rental-service)