Japan's three terrifying problems

The world is plagued with problems, but Japan faces some truly unique issues.

A decade ago, the country seemed intrinsically linked with the disciplines of efficiency, progress and competitiveness.

After all; Japan is responsible the best-selling car of all time, huge leaps forward in technology and research, and, of course, the wildly addictive TV show Takeshi's Castle.

Now, despite living standards being high and the political climate politics remaining stable, Japan appears to be facing some pretty major problems.

They are not having enough sex

Overpopulation is happening across the world, but not in Japan where young people are simply not having enough sex. In fact, Japan's population is dramatically shrinking.

Nearly a third of Japanese people enter their 30s without any sexual experience, according to research.

Bashfulness is so widespread that the nation is tormented with a steep population decline, plummeting by 300,000 to 125.6 million last year.

In its wake, a shrinking workforce and soaring pension demand threatens the Japanese economy.

An unpopular government that seems powerless

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has just been re-elected in a landslide victory.

Which is strange result, because he's rather unpopular.

In the summer, support ratings for his cabinet plunged to 30 per cent after allegations of personal favouritism.

His re-election appears to be more a sign of a lack of a choice for voters, rather than any sharp recovery in popularity.

North Korea

For a country so near North Korea that its citizens might have only 10 minutes to prepare for a missile attack, the people worry every time Kim Jong-un flexes his muscles.

Which he has done so repeatedly.

North Korea launched a missile over Japan in September, which was the second to fly over the country in less than a month.

More: These two clocks in Hiroshima reveal the chilling reality of nuclear war