News from Japan's health ministry on the last day of 2014 did not augur well for the country, as the population dropped by a record 268,000 last year.

Japan's demographic crisis is no secret. But that the island country is getting empty at such a fast pace is astonishing.

Three years ago, one Japanese government report warned that should current trends continue, the population would shrink from 127 million to a paltry 87 million by 2060. And 40 percent of them could be 65 or older.