Wakaresaseya or wakaresase-ya (別れさせ屋, "breaker-uppers") are Japanese businesses that specialize in breaking up relationships, often by drawing one of the partners into an affair or by producing other incriminating evidence.
[1] Though most often used to gather evidence of infidelity for use in a divorce case, it may also be used for purposes ranging from bringing shame to someone, securing the resignation of an employee, luring away the lover of one's spouse,[1] or breaking up some other relationship.
[4] People involved in the business agree that men make easier targets and will almost always be seduced by good looking operatives.
[1][3] The activities of these agencies were first widely reported in about 2000, and in 2001 the TV network NTV aired a drama series Wakaresase-ya.
[4] The industry was especially reported on by Japanese and foreign media in 2010 when a former operative of a wakaresaseya agency was sentenced for murder.