Japanesecouples,toobusyforanormalsociallife,areincreasinglyturningtoactorstoplaytheirfriendsonthemostimportantdaysoftheirlives.
Severalagencieshavesprungup(涌现)offeringactorstoattendweddingsorevenfunerals.Thefirstguest-for-hirecompanywasestablishedaboutnineyearsagoandaround10nowsendoutdozensofpretendfriendstofamilyevents.
AgenciessuchasHagemashiTai——whichmeans“Iwanttocheeryouup”——chargearound£100foreach“guest”.Otherservicessuchasgivingaspeechinpraiseofabrideorthegroomcostextra.
TheappearanceofthesmallfakefriendsindustryhasbeenlinkedtosocialandeconomicchangesinJapan.Withlifetimeemployment(终身雇佣制)athingofthepast,couplesfeeluncomfortableaboutinvitingworkcolleaguestotheirwedding.Increasinglybusyandstressedout,manyJapanesesurroundthemselveswithonlyaverysmallcircleoffriends.
Whentheymarry,however,theyareunderpressuretomatchthenumberoftheirnewpartner’sweddingguests.OfficeAgents,thelargestproviderofpretendfriends,makessurethatitsemployeeshavedonetheirhomeworkandknowallaboutthebrideorgroombeforethewedding.
HiroshiMizutani,thecompany’sfounder,saidthefakefriendsheprovidesmustlookhappy,bewelldressedandlooklikepeoplewithgoodjobs.
小题1:WhydidfakefriendsindustrycomeintobeinginJapan?