The ominous demographics of aging Japan have long been seen by the people as a distant concern, not a present-day one. But that mindset is being called into question by a prime minister who says a crisis requiring immediate sacrifices has already begun.
In recent months, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has staked his job and bet his support on a tax increase designed to fund the nation's soaring social security costs.
And the potential tax hike is only a sneak preview of the burdens to come as Japan grows into the world's grayest society, a nation where two decades from now seniors will outnumber children 15 and younger nearly 4 to 1.