Quit for Hire: Inside Japan’s Proxy Resignation Trend

What happens when you’re too nervous to quit your job yourself? In Japan’s latest cultural twist, frustration meets innovation—enter resignation agencies, where you pay someone else to say "I quit" for you.

In this episode of Executive Search in Japan, we dive headfirst into the surprising rise of proxy quitters—services like Momuri guiding tens of thousands out of jobs since the pandemic. We'll explore:

• The emotional and cultural barriers that make resigning feel impossible.
• First-person stories of those pushed to the edge—and the relief they found.
• What this hidden industry reveals about Japan’s work culture unraveling.
• How executive recruiters are recalibrating: loyalty isn’t assumed anymore.

This is more than a quirky trend—it might be the canary in the coal mine for Japan’s evolving workplace norms. Tune in for the weird, the wise, and the workplace game-changing.

Transcript

Tessa Sourceley 0:00

Okay, so picture this. You're so stressed about quitting your job, you actually pay someone else to do it for you. Sounds wild, right?

Chase Stratton 0:06

It really does.

Tessa Sourceley 0:06

Well, today on the Deep Dive, we're looking into exactly that Japan's booming resignation agencies, sometimes called ghost quitting services. We'll look at companies like Momori, and that name, by the way, comes from Momori.

Chase Stratton 0:21

Which basically means, I've had it. or I just can't take this anymore really captures the feeling.

Tessa Sourceley 0:27

Exactly. So we want to know why these are taking off and what it tells us about work today.

Chase Stratton 0:32

Right. Our mission really is to unpack why these services have sprung up so fast. What does it signal about the future of work?

Tessa Sourceley 0:40

Right.

Chase Stratton 0:40

And what are the implications? Especially for things like hiring, talent acquisition, company culture. Because this isn't just some quirky cultural thing. It feels like a fundamental shift happening in the labor market.

Tessa Sourceley 0:52

So let's start unpacking this. What exactly are these resignation proxy services? Taishoku Daiku, I think they're called.

Chase Stratton 0:59

Taishoku Daiku. Essentially, they act as a professional intermediary. They deliver the news, your resignation to your employer for you.

Tessa Sourceley 1:07

So you don't have to face them.

Chase Stratton 1:08

Precisely. You avoid what many people find, well, an incredibly difficult, sometimes impossible confrontation.

Tessa Sourceley 1:17

Let's take Memori as an example. How does it work day to day?

Chase Stratton 1:19

Okay. So Memori, it was founded March 15th, 2022. The CEO is Tanimoto Shinji under a parent company called Albatross Inc.

Tessa Sourceley 1:28

Right.

Chase Stratton 1:29

And their process is honestly super streamlined. Clients usually reach out first using messaging apps. Line is really common in Japan. They fill out a quick questionnaire, sign a contract digitally.

Tessa Sourceley 1:41

And then what? How fast does the quitting part happen?

Chase Stratton 1:43

Often really fast, sometimes within minutes, maybe 20, 30 minutes after the contract is signed. One of Mamouri's staff, they have about 50 people, calls the employer.

Tessa Sourceley 1:52

Just like that. Hi, your employee quits.

Chase Stratton 1:55

Pretty much, yeah. But it's more than just the phone call. They handle all the follow-up correspondence. Like

Tessa Sourceley 2:00

what?

Chase Stratton 2:00

Arranging to return company stuff, uniforms, maybe locker keys, managing the paperwork that goes with quitting.

Tessa Sourceley 2:07

Okay, that's comprehensive. What if things get legally tricky, like negotiations?

Chase Stratton 2:13

That's a key part. Momori either has its own lawyers or, crucially, partners with a labor

Tessa Sourceley 2:18

union. Ah, the union angle is interesting.

Chase Stratton 2:20

It is. It gives them the legal standing to actually negotiate things like unused paid leave or handle disputes directly on the client's behalf.

Tessa Sourceley 2:29

And the cost for all this?

Chase Stratton 2:30

It's a fixed fee structure. For full-time employees, it's $22,000. Okay. And for part-time or fixed-term workers, it's cheaper, $12,000.

Tessa Sourceley 2:39

Right. So who is actually using these services? You mentioned the pressure. Is it mainly younger people like Gen Z finding a new way? Or is it broader?

Chase Stratton 2:46

It definitely skews young. About 60% of Momori's clients are in their 20s.

Tessa Sourceley 2:50

Okay. So the stereotype holds a bit.

Chase Stratton 2:52

A bit, yeah. But it's definitely not just them. We're seeing 6% of users who are in their 50s.

Tessa Sourceley 2:57

Really?

Chase Stratton 2:58

Yeah. And almost 3% are over 60. So it crosses generations.

Tessa Sourceley 3:01

That is surprising.

Chase Stratton 3:03

But here's what's really striking. how long, or rather, how short they've been at the job.

Tessa Sourceley 3:07

Oh.

Chase Stratton 3:08

A huge chunk, 38.7%, quit within their first six months.

Tessa Sourceley 3:14

Wow, less than half a year.

Chase Stratton 3:15

And some quit even faster. We're talking people resigning after just a few hours on their very first day.

Tessa Sourceley 3:20

Hours. That's incredible. It really speaks volumes, doesn't

Chase Stratton 3:24

it? It absolutely does. It tells you the pressure or the mismatch is immediate for some people.

Tessa Sourceley 3:28

That lack of tenure, especially quitting after hours, it really makes you wonder... Why? Why pay money just to avoid that conversation? What are the core reasons people give?

Chase Stratton 3:40

Well, the reasons clients give are Like what? That's cited by nearly 34% of clients. Over a third. That's huge. It is. And close behind, at 30.2%, is the fear that their employer would simply refuse to accept their resignation. Just flat out say no.

Tessa Sourceley 4:00

Can they even do that?

Chase Stratton 4:01

Legally? Legally, no. But the fear is real, and sometimes employers do try to obstruct.

Tessa Sourceley 4:07

Okay.

Chase Stratton 4:07

Excessive overtime is another big one, almost 25%. And then not being able to use paid holidays, that's 13%.

Tessa Sourceley 4:13

Mm-hmm.

Chase Stratton 4:13

But cutting across all of this, there's a fundamental driver. what clients call the expectation reality gap.

Tessa Sourceley 4:22

Ah, the old bait and switch.

Chase Stratton 4:23

Exactly. A major disconnect between what the job was sold as during recruitment and what it's actually like day to day.

Tessa Sourceley 4:30

Those reasons are pretty stark. But, you know, playing devil's advocate for a second, couldn't someone argue that paying to quit is avoiding a difficult but maybe necessary conversation? Like, facing that discomfort could build resilience. Or is that view just too... Western, maybe, given the cultural context.

Chase Stratton 4:48

That's a totally fair question. And it does reflect perhaps a more individualistic viewpoint common in the West. Right. But in Japan, trying to quit, especially against the boss's wishes, can escalate way beyond discomfort. It can become, well, psychological warfare.

Tessa Sourceley 5:02

How so?

Chase Stratton 5:02

You hear stories, bosses literally tearing up resignation letters, forcing employees into this incredibly humiliating deep bow, the dojiza, essentially begging to be allowed to leave.

Tessa Sourceley 5:12

Wow.

Chase Stratton 5:13

Sometimes managers even show up at the employee's home That's

Tessa Sourceley 5:18

intense. Crossing a major line.

Chase Stratton 5:20

Absolutely. So the agency service acts as a crucial buffer. It shields people from that kind of coercive behavior, protecting their mental health.

Tessa Sourceley 5:28

So it's less about avoiding discomfort and more about avoiding actual abuse or extreme pressure.

Chase Stratton 5:33

Exactly. And you have to connect it to the wider cultural background, too. Things like shushun koyos, the traditional idea of lifetime employment, create this deep-seated expectation of unwavering loyalty.

Tessa Sourceley 5:45

Making quitting feel like a betrayal.

Chase Stratton 5:47

Right. And then there's wa, the empathy. Yes. Okay. Quitting just becomes this massive, fraught event.

Tessa Sourceley 6:10

So seeing it that way, it's not about a soft generation being unable to handle things?

Chase Stratton 6:15

Not at all. It's really an indictment of a corporate culture that, historically at least, relied on intimidation and psychological pressure to keep people sometimes effectively ignoring their legal right to resign.

Tessa Sourceley 6:27

It sounds like a problem that was just waiting for a solution then. How big has this whole resignation agency industry become? You said it's booming.

Chase Stratton 6:35

It's exploded. Just a few years back, there were maybe a handful of these companies. Now, as of 2025, there are over 100.

Tessa Sourceley 6:42

Over 100 companies doing this.

Chase Stratton 6:43

Yeah. And Memori's growth really shows the demand. In 2022, they were handling maybe 100 requests a month.

Tessa Sourceley 6:50

Okay.

Chase Stratton 6:51

By late 2023, that jumped to an average of 1,000 to 1,500 requests per month.

Tessa Sourceley 6:57

That's incredible growth, more than tenfold.

Chase Stratton 6:59

Massive growth. And they see huge spikes after holidays, like Golden Week. People have time off. They reflect and decide that's it. They can get 500 to 1,400 cases just in that post-holiday period.

Tessa Sourceley 7:10

What kicked off this awareness? How did people find out about them?

Chase Stratton 7:13

A lot of it seems to be social media buzz. It went viral. There was one YouTube video apparently showing Mamouri's callers actually making the resignation calls. They got over 3.5 million views.

Tessa Sourceley 7:24

Ah, seeing it in action makes it real.

Chase Stratton 7:26

Exactly. It suddenly made this option visible and maybe more acceptable to a lot of people.

Tessa Sourceley 7:32

With that kind of rapid growth and over 100 players now, it must be getting competitive. How do these services stand out from each other?

Chase Stratton 7:41

Yeah, it's not a one-size-fits-all market. Different companies focus on different things.

Tessa Sourceley 7:45

Like Mamouri versus, say, another one. I think I heard of one called Exit.

Chase Stratton 7:49

Right, Exit is another big name, actually one of the pioneers, founded back in 2017.

Tessa Sourceley 7:53

Okay, so how do they compare?

Chase Stratton 7:54

Well, Mamouri. being newer, made a point of partnering with that certified labor union we mentioned.

Tessa Sourceley 8:00

Right, for negotiations.

Chase Stratton 8:01

Exactly. So they can directly negotiate things like paid leave for clients.

Tessa Sourceley 8:05

Oh.

Chase Stratton 8:06

They pitch themselves as offering best-in-class support.

Tessa Sourceley 8:09

An exit.

Chase Stratton 8:09

Exit is often positioned as a lower-cost option. Their model, legally, means the client usually has to handle any direct negotiations themselves, if needed. Exit facilitates the initial resignation message.

Tessa Sourceley 8:21

So different service levels, different price points.

Chase Stratton 8:24

Pretty much. But it's really important to see this market for what it is. It's a mirror reflecting a problem.

Tessa Sourceley 8:30

Not the cause of the problem itself.

Chase Stratton 8:32

Precisely. It's reflecting this huge unmet demand for people who felt trapped. It signals a kind of structural failure in parts of the traditional employment system, especially, it seems, in small to medium-sized companies and the service industry.

Tessa Sourceley 8:46

OK, so companies are now facing this choir, employees quitting via proxy. How are they reacting? Are they just accepting it, fighting it?

Chase Stratton 8:54

It really runs the gamut. You get outright hostility sometimes, managers refusing to cooperate, even threatening to show up at the agency's office.

Tessa Sourceley 9:01

Seriously?

Chase Stratton 9:02

Oh, yeah. In those cases, memory shifts tactics. They'll use registered mail or email, relying on the legal rights of the employee to resign. They document everything.

Tessa Sourceley 9:11

Smart. What about other reactions?

Chase Stratton 9:13

Many are just. Resigned acceptance. They get the call. They process the paperwork. Maybe they're annoyed. Maybe not. But they do it.

Tessa Sourceley 9:20

And any positive signs companies learning from this?

Chase Stratton 9:22

There are some. A small but apparently growing number see it as a wake-up call. They start implementing changes, more frequent one-on-one meetings, trying to actually listen to employees before they reach the breaking point.

Tessa Sourceley 9:36

That's encouraging.

Chase Stratton 9:37

And here's a really fascinating twist. Some companies are now contacting these same resignation agencies.

Tessa Sourceley 9:43

To complain.

Chase Stratton 9:44

No, to ask for referrals. They see these agencies as having access to a pool of newly unemployed people who are clearly looking for something different.

Tessa Sourceley 9:53

Wow, okay. That's opportunistic. Or maybe pragmatic.

Chase Stratton 9:56

A bit of both, probably. But it leads to something even more interesting Mamouri is doing.

Tessa Sourceley 10:01

Which is?

Chase Stratton 10:01

They've launched a new service called Mamouri Plus Two. It's basically turning their resignation data into a consulting service.

Tessa Sourceley 10:08

Using the reasons people quit to help companies improve.

Chase Stratton 10:11

Exactly. They claim to have the industry's largest big data on resignations, drawing from over 20,000 cases a year. They use this to help companies pinpoint why people are leaving and fix those root causes.

Tessa Sourceley 10:25

That's a smart pivot. Turning the problem into the solution almost.

Chase Stratton 10:29

And there's more. Memori Plus also offers an information disclosure service.

Tessa Sourceley 10:34

What does that mean?

Chase Stratton 10:35

It gives potential employees information about a company's resignation history. Think of it like Glassdoor or Yelp, but specifically focused on why people quit that particular company, powered by the agency's data.

Tessa Sourceley 10:47

That's huge. Talk about transparency. It really shifts the power dynamic, doesn't it?

Chase Stratton 10:50

Absolutely. Employers are suddenly being held publicly accountable for their culture in a very direct way. The old ways of relying on tradition or pressure just won't cut it if your dirty laundry is being aired to potential hires.

Tessa Sourceley 11:03

This feels like a massive shift with big implications. If we zoom out, what does this trend mean for, say, executive recruiters, especially in Japan, but maybe lessons for elsewhere, too?

Chase Stratton 11:13

It means a fundamental rethink is needed, especially around loyalty and what makes a good candidate profile. How so? For decades, especially in Japan, long tenure staying at one company for years was seen as the gold standard. Loyalty. Stability.

Tessa Sourceley 11:28

Right. Job hopping was frowned upon.

Chase Stratton 11:30

Exactly. But that metric is becoming obsolete fast, particularly for workers in their 20s and 30s. Now making intentional moves, having multiple job changes, that could be seen as showing drive, adaptability, someone actively seeking the right cultural fit, not just taking it out.

Tessa Sourceley 11:48

So recruiters need to update their thinking. Short stints don't automatically mean flaky anymore.

Chase Stratton 11:52

Precisely. A short tenure might mean the person has high standards or refused to tolerate a toxic environment Okay, so if

Tessa Sourceley 12:05

that's the new landscape, what are the new rules of engagement for recruiters trying to place people successfully? What's critical now?

Chase Stratton 12:12

Transparency. It's absolutely non-negotiable. Remember that expectation-reality gap?

Tessa Sourceley 12:17

Yeah, a top reason for quitting via agency.

Chase Stratton 12:19

Right. So recruiters have a duty, really, to push their client companies for total honesty. What's the culture really like? What are the actual working hours, the overtime situation, the leadership style, no more glossing over the tough stuff.

Tessa Sourceley 12:33

Get the real picture out there.

Chase Stratton 12:34

Yes. And also recognizing mental health as a core business issue, a retention issue, not just a personal problem for the employee to deal with.

Tessa Sourceley 12:44

So recruiters should be assessing that both in candidates and in companies.

Chase Stratton 12:48

I think so. Assessing candidate well-being, but also advocating for client companies to build psychologically sustainable cultures, places where people can thrive, not just survive. Thank you.

Tessa Sourceley 12:59

This sounds like the role of the recruiter itself is changing quite dramatically.

Chase Stratton 13:03

It absolutely is. It has to. Recruiters need to evolve from just being headhunters finding bodies to fill seats into genuine culture consultants. Their job isn't just placing someone. It's ensuring that placement has a real chance of working long term, helping the company become a place where people want to stay.

Tessa Sourceley 13:20

Using data, perhaps, like from Memoria Plus.

Chase Stratton 13:24

Exactly. Using data-backed insights to help clients ditch outdated, harmful practices and build workplaces that are actually attractive in today's market. It's a shift from finding people for the company to helping the company become better for the people.

Tessa Sourceley 13:37

It signifies a real move away from those traditional Japanese norms we talked about.

Chase Stratton 13:42

A massive shift. Away from shushinkoyu, lifetime employment, towards job mobility. Away from prioritizing wa, group harmony above all, towards valuing individual well-being and mental health. Away from rigid, high power distance hierarchies, towards flatter structures and open communication And

Tessa Sourceley 14:00

even the act of resignation itself is changing.

Chase Stratton 14:02

Yes, from the ideal of non-confrontational resignation that often failed, to this new reality of confrontation-averse resignation done via agencies. It signals a complete flip from an employer-centric market to an employee-centric one. It's irreversible.

Tessa Sourceley 14:16

So wrapping this up, this ghost quitting phenomenon, it seems messy, maybe even uncomfortable to talk about.

Chase Stratton 14:22

It is. But it's a really powerful symptom of a bigger generational shift, a revolution even. These agencies are filling a void, frankly, a gap where people's legal rights were effectively canceled out by cultural pressures. They're a necessary outcome of power shifting decisively from the employer to the employee.

Tessa Sourceley 14:40

A push towards something better.

Chase Stratton 14:42

Towards a more balanced, more transparent, and ultimately more humane way of working. It's a painful adjustment for some companies, no doubt, but it feels like an unstoppable force.

Tessa Sourceley 14:52

So a final thought for you, our listener. What does the sheer success of these resignation agencies tell us about that fundamental human need for dignity, for autonomy in our working lives? And think about how similar pressures, similar shifts might be playing out or could play out in other countries, even with very different cultures. Something to ponder until our next deep dive.