Great Britain's women have failed to win bronze in the curling competition after being edged out with the final stone in the third-place playoff.
Both teams sparred in a cagey opening five ends, trading one point each as the match was tied 3-2 to Great Britain at the halfway point.
Neither side looked eager to play with more ambition than was required after the break, as two successive blanked ends left Team GB in the lead with three ends to go.
In the eighth end, Japan recovered to tie the match and then took a 4-3 lead in the ninth as Satsuki Fujisawa's team edged closer to victory.
After a series of clever shots by Fujisawa's side in the final end, Eve Muirhead and the GB women had the chance to snatch a victory with their final stone, but an ambitious shot failed to pay off as Japan took the bronze in a 5-3 victory.
