While Japan was expected to fall behind a surging China in the year, the data underlined the weak state of a Japanese economy burdened by deflation, soft domestic demand and pressured by the industrialized world’s biggest debt.

The fracturing of the post-World War Two system that propelled Japan's economy to the No.2 global spot -- a status now lost to China -- has pushed many youths to seek security by trying to cling to what remains. But for others, the uncertainty itself is giving birth to a do-it-yourself mindset that could generate welcome dynamism. – Photos by Reuters