Tokyo
Thousands of elderly Japanese women have come down with a debilitating condition doctors are calling “retired husband syndrome,” The Washington Post reported this week. Symptoms range from depression to ulcers, rashes, and polyps—all induced by the stress of having to wait on a man who has nothing to do but bark orders all day long. Many men of Japan’s older generation still expect subservience from their wives, but the women have developed friends and interests outside the home. Given that fully one-fifth of Japanese people are over 65, the market for treatment of RHS is huge. Bookstores now offer numerous manuals on how to get husbands out of the house, and psychiatrists report a thriving RHS practice.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
The most anticipated movies of 2026The Week Recommends If the trailers are anything to go by, film buffs are in for a treat
-
The biggest viral moments of 2025In the Spotlight From the Coldplay concert kiss cam to a celebrity space mission, these are some of the craziest, and most unexpected, things to happen this year
-
Environment breakthroughs of 2025In Depth Progress was made this year on carbon dioxide tracking, food waste upcycling, sodium batteries, microplastic monitoring and green concrete
