The economic bubble burst in 1990: As the lifetime employment system disintegrated, Japanese men lost the economic ability to "buy out" marriage. When men could no longer support the entire family alone, and even struggled to support themselves, the traditional "marriage contract"—where men were the sole breadwinners and women were responsible for consumption—naturally collapsed. The emergence of gender conflict: When women refused to lower their standards for choosing a partner, and men were unable to bear the burden, the phenomena of "herbivore men" and "parasite women" appeared.