This Japanese man earns $80,000 a year by “doing nothing.”

When Shoji Morimoto was fired from his office job in 2018, his boss criticized him for his lack of initiative and “not doing anything” of value to the company. Joke on him, because Morimoto, now 41, has since gone on to make a lucrative career by doing nothing.

Morimoto is known as the “do nothing” rental man in Japan, and his day job involves lending himself out to strangers looking for someone's company for almost nothing at all. These requests can range from waiting for a marathon runner at the finish line, to video calling while a bored client redecorates and cleans her room. Once, she hired a client who couldn't attend a concert with a friend of hers, Morimoto to take her place.

From the silly to the mundane, Morimoto will simply show up and “do nothing” other than what he's told to do – except sex.

“I have been put in objectively difficult situations, such as standing in line under the hot sun, standing for hours in the freezing cold, attending concerts with only strangers, and standing alone on stage in front of a large audience without doing anything,” said the father of a 6-year-old boy. Seven years old for CNBC Make It.

“However, no matter how much bad luck I have had, I feel like it is something special that only happened because I do this work, so I can still cherish it,” he said.

Morimoto's longest one-time mission was a 17-hour trip on the same railway line, from start to finish, from early morning until the last train. “We made 13 laps on the Yamanote Line (train station),” he said.

There were also several requests for Morimoto to be a listening ear for customers' bad days. However, when it comes to conversations, Morimoto offers the bare minimum and the simplest answers. In other words, he nods and listens attentively, but is careful not to play therapist.

Morimoto told CNBC that he receives about 1,000 orders a year, and lets his clients decide how much they will pay him. He charged a flat rate of 10,000 yen to 30,000 yen ($65 to $195) for a two- to three-hour session, and earned about $80,000 last year.

Morimoto introduced the pay-as-you-want model late last year.

“I charge voluntarily, so I don’t know if it will be sustainable, but I enjoy trying to figure out if it is sustainable,” Morimoto said, adding that his goal was not to make a living or support himself. But “simply live life and enjoy it.”

To test his services, CNBC Make It accompanied Morimoto for two hours, taking him to a pig café in Tokyo where customers can sip a drink and interact with pig droppings.

I had initially planned to go alone, but entering a crowded café and seeing customers in pairs and small groups made me feel a tinge of relief at being in Morimoto's company.

And there was another plus: he could take pictures of me playing with the pigs.

After a few tentative exchanges in my broken Japanese and help with Google Translate, there was no need for further small talk as I left him to his own devices and focused on my pig. Then I realized Morimoto's appeal: clients like me enjoying an activity in a social setting without being judged for going it alone. Better yet, I don't feel obligated to continue the conversation with anyone when I'm just there for the pigs.

Although there are no official statistics tracking the rental industry in Japan, the country is home to a large number of rental services for temporary girlfriends, boyfriends, friends, and even family.

“This aligns well with the recent needs of Japanese people, who are not looking for love or marriage, and do not want the hassles of such relationships, but want someone who they can go on a casual date with or have dinner with,” Ai Sakata, a consultant at Nomura Research Institute, told CNBC. .

Loneliness may be the reason why some people pay for such services, but it is not the only reason, Morimoto and the experts CNBC spoke to said.

Some individuals may want companionship, but others may be a bit “socially awkward,” said Hiroshi Ono, a professor of human resources at Hitotsubashi University.

The professor added that most Japanese people do not necessarily deal well with confrontation or even direct communication. “Maybe people are so embarrassed that they can't say, ‘Will you be my friend?’ And to avoid that embarrassment, they're just willing to pay for it.”

Morimoto said a woman once paid him to sit in the corner of a café, within earshot, while she filed divorce papers for her husband — without drawing his attention. The paper was signed smoothly, and Morimoto said the divorcee got an extra dose of courage from having someone she knew nearby.

The 41-year-old noted that his presence acts as a security blanket of sorts, temporarily reaching out to those who do not feel comfortable in certain places.

“There are so many different (favorite) moments in this job, like when I receive an offer letter, when I meet a client, when I accompany a client to an unknown place, when I just listen to a story, and I feel happy in every moment,” Morimoto said.

“There wasn't anything else I really wanted to do,” he said.

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