OK, it all started with an article that came out one month ago on the Strait Times.

For $12 an hour, a middle-aged Japanese man will listen to your woes, do chores and offer advice on things like love and life.

Now that’s not a bad rate, right?
I mean, 12 bucks per hour makes almost 100 bucks a day working 9 to 5.

Turns out in 2012 a guy called Nishimoto Takanobu started an online service from his apartment, called Ossan Rental, basically Rent-an-Uncle, where uncle is not exactly a compliment, but rather a disparaging term to label fifty-something men.
The service charges 10.000 yes per month (roughly 3 bucks per day) the “uncles” that want to make their services available to the public. Services that range from doing small chores to providing counsel and suggestions. The most requested of Nishimoto’s uncles can get up to 60 jobs per month, racking roughly 900 bucks.

I am not kidding you – here’s the website (and right now there’s a guy labeled as sold out… wow!)

Now I read the articles about the Rent-an-Uncle service, and… Continue reading →