Mari Watanabe: Menopausal, teenage daughter and big fight, thanks to husband Jun Nagura

Mari Watanabe (54), a TV talent, appeared on Tetsuko Kuroyanagi's long-running talk show "Tetsuko's Room" (TV Asahi) broadcast on June 25th. She talked about her own menopausal symptoms and the conflicts she faces with her family.

Watanabe-san entered his fifties and began to experience changes in his health. "I went to the hospital and they found that there was nothing wrong with me, but my legs started hurting a lot. When I woke up in the morning, my legs hurt so much I couldn't walk. My ankles were so stiff that I had to stagger along the wall to get to the kitchen," he said.

"I've noticed a few symptoms here and there, like my sleep quality has gotten worse, I'm getting tired more easily, my body feels hot all year round, etc."

Even things that would normally be no big deal would make her irritated. When her family asked her why she was so irritated, she would say, "I'm sorry, I'm going through menopause. I get so irritated."

Watanabe's menopause coincided with her daughter's adolescence, which occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic. "When my daughter was in the upper grades of elementary school, we had to take online classes, which she was not used to, and she couldn't see her friends. Our lives changed completely, and my daughter went through a period of emotional instability," she said.

At that time, Watanabe-san was constantly nagging her daughter, who was always at home, saying things like, "You're not studying anyway, are you?", "Do this drill," "Clean up your room," and "Take a bath." The daughter exploded with stress. We had a big fight.

"My daughter was in puberty and had a lot of energy, while I was going through menopause and my physical strength was declining, so it was a really tough battle. We wouldn't forgive each other until we were satisfied, so we fought all the time. Sometimes we would both burst into tears."

At times like that, her husband, Jun Nagura of the comedy trio Neptune, never intervened and just watched over her.

"Just when I was about to say something terrible (to our daughter), he would come out at the crucial moment and say, 'Mom, you can't say any more.' It must have been very difficult for him. I think he was very patient. I think it works because my husband is such a kind and hardworking person," she said, expressing her gratitude.