Thanks to Marie Kondo, everyone knows about the Japanese art of katazuke, or "tidying up." Kondo's books on organizing your things and deciding what items you should throw away have been translated into numerous languages and she's been interviewed by myriad international media outlets.
Katazuke has an evil twin called "hoarding," an acknowledged psychological condition that describes how individuals cannot let go of possessions, no matter how inessential. The American reality show "Hoarders" has been a staple on American cable TV off-and-on for about a decade. Experts visit junk-filled homes and attempt to sort out their owners' lives.
In Japan, such TV shows are also very popular. Titles sometimes incorporate the word "gomi-yashiki," meaning "garbage house." On May 16, NHK ran a report on "garbage apartments" occupied by single people. In the cases cited, the individuals are faced with stressful situations that manifest as total neglect of their personal space. Their apartments fill up with junk to the point where they can't even move around. Experts say this behavior is the product of loneliness and forced "individualism." Without the balancing effect of social interaction, people can fall into patterns of apathy that lead to depression.