Tuesday, 14 November, 2006 2150 GMT on BBC Two

"Retired Husband Syndrome" is generating a national debate in Japan.

A form of a severe, debilitating stress, it can lead to suicide.

And physical manifestations of the illness, such as skin rashes, ulcers, asthma and high blood pressure, can also result in heart attacks and strokes.

Up until now, many Japanese women trapped by a lack of personal income and marketable skills, have stayed in unfulfilling relationships.

But their decision comes with a price.

These women have spent around four decades pandering to their husbands' every need, while their spouses remained married to their jobs.

Emotionally neglected - with no careers or money of their own - they endure lonely lives, often giving in to severe depression.

The syndrome was discovered by Dr Nobuo Kurokawa who, over the last 10 years, has been treating a steady flow of Japanese middle-aged women with the same symptoms.

This documentary gives a fascinating insight into the lives of three couples, in which the women are affected by the syndrome.

With astonishing frankness they talk about their suffering and reveal their innermost emotions.

They talk about their struggles, how to overcome the disease and how to bring their marriages back from the brink of divorce.