Maybe Japan didn't do all that badly over the past 20 years

Demographics are virtually the only sure thing in economics

Japan is seen as a textbook failure to stimulate an economy but given that most developed economies have struggled to sustain growth since the crisis, maybe they haven't done so badly.

The challenges that Japan have faced over the past 20 years are about to hit Europe, Canada and (to a lesser extent) the United States.

Japan's working age population has been in decline since 1996. The US has seen a 20%+ rise in the same time but towards the end of the decade, the US will start to roll over.

Given that developed countries haven't even been able to sustain 3% growth in the past 6 years, what will it look like with an aging population?

For more on demographics, take a look at this animated population pyramid.