TOKYO, Jan 4 — ...He was jealous of the attention that she paid to their children.

But that didn’t stop Otou Katayama from continuing to live with his wife Yumi and fathering a son with her, now aged 18.

And it was that very same son Yoshiki who wrote to a Hokkaido TV show asking them to intervene because he had never heard his parents have a conversation.

According to media reports, Katayama would only grunt and nod in response to Yumi's efforts to speak to him.

The couple from Nara in Japan also have two daughters, aged 25 and 21.

Otou Katayama did not speak to his wife Yumi for 20 years because he was jealous of the attention and care that she gave to their kids. — Screengrab from YouTube

The TV show set up a meeting for the couple on the park bench where they had their first date, as their emotional offspring looked on.

"Somehow it’s been a while since we talked,” Katayama can be seen saying, voice faltering, in a clip.

"You were so concerned about the kids.

"Yumi, up until now, you have endured a lot of hardship. I want you to know I’m grateful for everything.”

Katayama then divulged the reason why he had given her the cold shoulder for all these years: He was envious of the attention she gave the children.

"I was kind of… jealous. I was sulking about it,” he admitted.

Background laughter can be heard when he recommends they speak again sometime because "there’s no going back now I guess.”

The couple’s emotional offspring look on as their parents engage in a conversation for the first time in 20 years. — Screengrab from YouTube