Reuters/Issei Kato
A Japanese soccer fan wipes her tears as Japan loses their 2014 World Cup soccer match against Colombia, at a public viewing event in Tokyo.
Through a vicious cycle of low fertility and low consumer spending, the country's economy has gradually shrunk over the last 25 years.
People are living longer, and they're heaping greater social-security costs onto younger generations who aren't having kids to replace them - thereby furthering the cycle.
Here are some of the most visible signs in daily life that the time bomb is ticking.