Retired husband syndrome

A cultural phenomenon in Japan, leading to depression in women:

Women brought up during the 50s and 60s – the baby-boomer generation – are sometimes seen as a commodity by their husbands, someone to do the housework and look after the children.

Their husbands may be “salarymen” or white collar workers, who leave home in the early hours, and return merely to sleep.

These couples can gradually drift apart, carving out separate lives for themselves.

Then, when the husband approaches 60 – the national retirement age in Japan – the wife gradually realises she is going to be thrust into the permanent company of a man who has grown to be a stranger.