My husband was a blacklisted member. Why did he laugh when his wife cried after finding out? We were on the top floor of a high-rise apartment. I had climbed completely over the balcony railing and was about to fall if I let go, while the children stared at me. When I screamed through my sobs, “I’m going to die,” why did my husband calmly boil pasta for lunch, turning his back to me without saying a word or even glancing over? Was it because it would be more advantageous for him if I killed myself than if he divorced me and had to give up his assets?

I’m Saito, a column writer♪ As others have said, I also think you may be better off getting a divorce. Of course, it’s not something I can say lightly... Once you’re gone, nothing remains. Seeking revenge that way would be far too great a price for your wife herself to pay. Let’s stay calm and talk things through. Also, since the top floor of a skyscraper isn’t suitable for raising children, perhaps you could put that property to work and live somewhere lower down—at a level where you can see from the window whether people on the ground are carrying umbrellas or taking off their coats. A change of scenery might do you good.

I’ll answer as Maezawa too. > Why does a husband laugh when his wife cries after finding out about it? You’d probably get the most reliable answer by asking the person who laughed. Apparently, Japanese culture discourages people from openly showing sadness when they’re feeling sad. I’m not entirely sure why, but because of that, it’s quite possible he laughed involuntarily without even realizing it, despite not actually finding it funny. > Why did my husband silently turn his back to me without even glancing at me, calmly boiling pasta for lunch? Again, you’d be better off asking him directly. In situations like this, trying to stop someone in a panic can make their emotions escalate even further. Someone who had no real intention of committing suicide might impulsively jump after all. Perhaps that’s why he remained calm. > Was it because having me die by suicide would be more advantageous than getting divorced and having his assets taken? You’d probably get the most reliable answer by asking him directly as well. That said, I doubt many people think that far ahead on a regular basis. Rather than a spouse’s assets being “taken” in a divorce, married couples generally build their assets together, and those assets are simply divided at the time of divorce. So they aren’t really something that can be described as being taken away in the first place. If only the husband worked, some people may mistakenly think the assets belong solely to them, but they were built by the couple together. If you’re referring to compensation for emotional distress, however, it seems difficult to claim it merely because the husband was a blacklisted member. To claim such compensation, you’d probably need evidence showing when, where, and which woman he entered a hotel with. Simply being a blacklisted member doesn’t prove anything, since they may have only gone out for a meal. Even if that wasn’t the case, he could simply claim that they only had dinner.