Trending Japanese article: 51-year-old man ruins his life chasing underground idols

The tragic fate of a middle-aged man who fell too deep into “oshi-katsu” (idol fandom):

• A 51-year-old section manager at a major manufacturer, married with kids, was invited by a colleague to a local idol concert.
• The moment he shook hands with an idol, who he didn't think was that attractive, he thought “Is this what youth feels like?” and got hooked.
• He began commuting weekly from Kansai to Tokyo by shinkansen, draining his savings, then borrowing from loan sharks. His debt exceeded 10 million yen (~$65k).
• Despite his wife’s pleas to stop, he refused: “This is my only reason to live. If I quit, I have nothing left.”
• He eventually quit his job, his family collapsed, and his phone revealed idol DMs and fan rivalries fueled by money and bragging rights.

This story is trending in Japan right now. It comes from a counseling case described by a psychiatrist: the man said his marriage had never been romantic, and he felt like idol fandom was helping him “reclaim the youth” he had missed out on.
I think a lot of people can relate to this story because we’ve all seen adults who seem dead set on reclaiming things they never had the chance to.

Source: https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/da8959eb7cb470ed90f827958f254d4bb4d7a548?page=3