"Rent fake family and friends" : Recession makes new wedding trends in Japan

As recession hits Japan, Mizutani said work-related requests are rising, with clients asking for a fake boss, who in real life may have become too busy for the wedding after losing his job, or coworkers for temporary workers that switch offices often without getting to know those they work with.

At one wedding, all 30 of the family, friends and coworkers of the groom were fakes, Mizutani said. This was the second marriage for the groom, who wanted to avoid inviting the same guests from the first wedding.

The firm gets about 100 wedding requests per year and has some 1,000 fakes available for various occasions, including funerals and training seminars.

It even offers fake lovers to introduce to your family and stand-in secretaries for those that want to look important.

The key qualification for Office Agents' staff is that they do not stand out.

"What's important is that these are normal people... normal as in they are cheery and clean and look like they have regular jobs," Mizutani said.