Dementia threatens aging Japan with healthcare time bomb

KAWASAKI, Japan - Kanemasa Ito compares caring for his wife Kimiko to waging a daily war with the devil. The woman he loved has all but disappeared - lost to dementia, she can no longer eat, bathe, or go to the toilet alone.

"There is a demon inside her head," Ito said, articulating the dramatic change in the person he'd built a life with, while she babbles nonsensically.

One of the world's most rapidly aging and long-lived societies, Japan is at the forefront of an impending global healthcare crisis. Authorities are bracing for a dementia time bomb and their approach could shape policies well beyond its borders.