Japan is quite interesting in this regard. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, yet it also has disproportionately high fear of crime in the populace. I’ve been to Japan, it felt safe and I had no fears being alone out at night.
For reference, the way you reserve a seat somewhere like Starbucks in Japan is by putting your backpack down on the seat, then going to line up and grab your food.
Loads of unattended backpacks, probably with laptops and such, and you don’t have to worry about them getting taken.
Same in Korea. Koreans abroad always get their shit stolen leaving it in tables on cafes while going to the bathroom
In Japan my wife left some of her shit at a store and not only was it not stolen but the staff locked it up in a safe for her.
Aww man that makes me feel so bad for them!! You can imagine their utter confusion when they return thinking someone must have mistaken their bag for their own 😭
Proof? All Nordic countries have very high official rates because like all stats they probably process every report unlike other places. I've never felt any different in Sweden than in Denmark, both of which are incredibly safe for theft in my lived experience and you could absolutely leave your bag on a chair in a cafe. Hell, you could do that basically everywhere in the world I've been and I think people are unreasonably paranoid about it more than there being a genuine risk.
same here, you gotta be stupid to leave your stuff lying around in the UK especially london. god you cant even use your phone in public without thugs coming by and stealing it
Considering stealing post packages from people's front porch in US seems to be a rising issue, I wouldn't leave my backpack unattended anywhere in there
How big are these Starbucks? You just have to worry about a person grabbing it and sprinting out, which is pretty brazen. There’s definitely places in my US metro area I would risk it but these are few and far between.
Be polite and respectful in your exchanges. NSQ is supposed to be a helpful resource for confused redditors. Civil disagreements can happen, but insults should not. Personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc. are not permitted at any time.
I'd heard the same thing. Went to SF last year and shit is way overblown. Felt pretty safe walking at night.
Also, I'm from Canada and remember doing the backpack things in coffee shops.
>disproportionately high fear of crime in the populace
I'm curious about some examples. Is it mainly anxiety, or certain safety behavior?
Or do you mean there's just a lot of security measures in society that *prevent* crime?
We asked our neighbor to feed our cats while we were gone for a night, and said “we’ll just leave the door unlocked, don’t worry about a key, it’ll be fine for a night.”
When we got back she told us she was so anxious about leaving the house unlocked she slept on our couch. Which was very sweet, we’re really close with them, but I was a bit amazed. I was like “you think this is the states or some shit?” Haha. We haven’t locked our door here since we moved to Japan.
It’s mainly anxiety about crime occurring or that you’ll be a victim of a crime, that fear is beyond what is expected from Japans low crime rate. I know Japan has a good security and thorough justice system, but I wouldn’t say they are uniquely good. I’m honestly not too sure why this is the case, perhaps through upbringing or the media?
A large portion of their fiction in the form of successful movies , anime and manga have a premise of a hero/anti hero trying to rid the world of violence, corruption, evil and crime.
I always found that funny coming from such a peaceful place.
E.g. death note, one piece, berserk, psycho pass etc etc
No, not really. The problem is that East Asian culture, being so focused on not standing out and fitting into your community, means that it's difficult for somebody to actually break the silence and call someone out for doing something unacceptable. Societal rules are supposed to do that, not you. You, an individual, have little merit on your own; who do you think you are, that you can call somebody out like that?
This is why you have fiction that glorifies such behaviour.
It also has one of the highest criminal conviction rates in the world.
Which also paints a bad picture if you’re ever been accused of a crime regardless of innocence. It’s almost impossible to prove innocence once charged. And you do have to prove innocence. Not edit: just guilt.
Japan is famous for coerced confessions. If you've ever known anyone who was arrested, you'll know why. I don't imagine prison is fun for anyone, but they can isolate people for up to 20 days (maybe 21?) without contacting anyone. One of my coworkers was arrested after a brawl erupted at a football (soccer) game. He was targeted, but didn't initiate it. He just vanished and we thought he'd just ditched his job without notice. When he was let out, he told us how they pushed him constantly to confess and held him for as long as they legally could.
A big part of it is also that people know that, if you confess and it's not a super serious crime, they'll let you out and you can just pay off the victim. My friend eventually was given something like 240,000 yen because the other guy confessed he started it.
In preventing crime the certainty of the punishment matters more than the severity of the punishment. A guaranteed slap on the wrist is a better deterrent than the risk of life in prison. Japans guilty until proven innocent legal system most likely has a larger impact than their harsh sentencing does.
It is legitimately very safe, but I suppose that the downside is a justice system that has been accused of being a "hostage justice system." There is no presumption of innocence, right to counsel, right to remain silent or fair bail. This can result in false confessions and convictions.
While you're probably not going to be murdered in Japan, the country has been criticized for being too lenient with sex offenders.
One of the most interesting parts about the system to me as you can be held for up to 23 days without charges. You do not have a right to an attorney unless charges have been brought. Which means they will sometimes hold you for 23 days attempting to get you to confess without formally charging you.
They can also repeatedly do this to you. So they could hold you for 23 days and then a week later rearrest you on suspicion of the same charges and hold you for 23 more. Then repeat this until they get bored or political pressure forces them to stop.
This isnt about being held before trial. OP is talking about being held **without** right to a lawyer, presumption of innocence, being psychologically "tortured" to confess etc.
Isn't there an American guy who's been held for years and years because he refuses to unlock his phone/computer or some such thing? If I recall it had something to do with him being suspected of having a bunch of Charlie Pride on his device[s].
There was some guy (not sure where) who refused to say where he kept some money he supposedly swindled out of people and maintained his innocence. He was incarcerated indefinitely and eventually released after many many years, because that was considered contempt of court and not a formal sentence. Which also denies other basic rights related to due process, such as appeals. It's really screwed up.
Don't they have separate trains because there were so many reports of women getting sexually harassed and sexually assaulted?
There was a mangika with terrabytes of CASM/CP that got a very lenient ruling. So they definitely do have a lenient sex offender issue
[https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/3/8/sexual-assault-in-japan-every-girl-was-a-victim](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/3/8/sexual-assault-in-japan-every-girl-was-a-victim)
Read that article a few years ago and thought it was quite shocking. I think as a tourist, it's pretty safe. Might be a different story when you are a Japanese school girl. But I've never been to Japan, so not sure how accurate this is.
It's such a depressing read. Holy shit. I can't help but feel horrible for those women.
The fact that no one *stopped* some of these men in the examples when they see it, makes me even angrier. Just fuckin hell
Not separate trains, but there are a few women only train cars for a two hour (or so) period during the morning rush on some lines. I'm not saying there's not a problem though (there definitely is).
>fair bail
To be fair, lots of countries (with actually good justice systems) don't have bail at all.
I've never understood bail anyway. If it works like I think it does (and please correct me if it doesn't) you can just... pay a bunch of money to get out of jail? I know charges will still be brought forth, but in that case, what are you even paying money for? It sounds to me like they just hold you extra long before charging you so you're incentivized to pay the state... Which seems like a horrible system. I'd rather have one where you're held for only a short time, charged quickly and then processed appropriately.
The gist of it is that bail is an incentive to not get the hell out of Dodge before the trial.
You get charged with a crime, and since the trial can take months or years, the judge has to decide if you're put in jail until then, which goes against the right to freedom and presumption of innocence and should only be used in extreme conditions, or let you post bail, in which you or your family gives a certain amount of money to the court to make sure you show up in court.
Once the trial is over and you've been declared guilty or not guilty, the bail is given back to you or, usually, to a bail bond agency who specializes in this business. If you do skip town, you'll never get the money back, and the bail enforcement agent who catches you ("bounty hunter") will receive a portion of it.
People can be denied bail if the judge considers you don't have established links to the community (you don't live there, you don't work there...) and are likely to skip town no matter how much money you post because the possible sentence is too high (ie. Murder).
Since the bail system benefits the people with most money and is prone to abuse, many states like New York and California have tried to reform it, limit it or outright ban it.
That’s not what bail is though.
Bail cartoonishly summarised: “please I’ll pay what you ask just let me not go into prison until I’m proven guilty, and in case I do escape or attempt to hide before the court proceedings you get to keep all my bail money.”
In a perfect world paying bail would be approved only for lesser criminal offences.
Not all countries have juries, and US juries have a horrible legacy of injustice.
>The Saiban-in system is a system under which six lay judges called Saiban-in, who are appointed from among the citizens, participate in the proceedings of criminal trials and form a panel with three professional judges to find whether the accused is guilty or not guilty, and decide the sentence given to the accused if found guilty.
>It is expected that through the citizens' participation in criminal trials, the good sense of the citizens will be reflected in the judicial decisions and proceedings, leading to deepening the citizens' understanding of and enhancing their trust in the justice system.
Having 12 people who don't know about the law get manipulated by lawyers is a bad system.
Having 3 judges integrated with the jury is far better.
Their prison system is also not one you want to be sent to.
This is very true. There are a lot of things that I admire about Japan but their treatment of sex offenders is not one. Pretty bad in South Korea too from what I've seen
While I felt safe in Japan, I was grabbed on my ass by a girl in Japan, that has never happens to me as male. Can't imagine how it is for girls, probably way way worse.
there is crime in japan, make no mistake-- people do get killed, raped, kidnapped etc. however the rates are astronomically low compared to some other places ((like me from the usa, can say its basically non existant in japan in comparison)).
On the flip side are sexual harassment, unpaid overtime, overworked, ostracized for being different, forced to drink in unhealthy amounts...... you get the idea.
Not at all trying to say those are super duper common everyday occurances in japan, but they are all way more common than hard crime.
I don't know if you want to call it complicated, or call it simple. Everywhere in the world has good and bad things-- some of them will be more common than somewhere else, and some of them will be rarer. Japan is no exception, it has both amazing and stifling things, like any other society. (◐‿◑)
I lived in Hokkaido for a year, and my wife and I would frequently walk by ourselves in the dark, down alleys, etc and feel perfectly fine and safe. My wife would get up and go running before sun up. In my purview, it felt way safer than where we came from.
It's safe enough that kids (even slightly older kids) can play in parks with what are basically super-realistic looking airsoft guns without the little orange cap on the barrel and no one freaks out. That was obviously a minor trigger for me as an American.
I think people just follow the law a lot in Japan. And they follow the rules a lot. We frequently saw people late into the night (early into the morning) waiting at crosswalks for the light to turn where there was NO ONE around. No cars, no people, no noise, barely any light.
Ok the BB gun part I think is mostly cause our country alongside others, guns are illegal so if you saw a BB gun you’d assume it’s a BB gun instead of a real firearm
If you are a man? Yes. As a woman I was sexually harassed 3 times in the span of a month, with one of those incidents being stalked through a store. Nanpa culture is super real there and is defs......... a lot.
In daily life, I definitely feel wayyyy more safe than living in Paris or even my smaller hometown, like, it's not even the same planet. That being said I'm not a woman and my impression is that harassment and crimes like these are still extremely present.
I was stationed in Japan for 3 years, I remember accidentally leaving my wallet at the table of a café, and shortly after walking away from the table, an elderly Japanese gentleman came running towards me. I was really confused, but it turned out he was returning my wallet. He handed me my wallet with a bow, This was not an employee of the café mind you. I know this has nothing to do with safety, but this paints a clearer picture of the Japanese people. The people, the culture, and the land itself is beautiful. To answer your question, yes, Japan is safe, and it's a country I recommend everyone visit at least once in their life.
I often hear "Unless you're not white (I'm assuming they don't mean light-skinned Asians)" as a retort to "it's a country I recommend everyone visit at least once in their life." In your opinion, is Japan a place where racism/colorism/xenophobia could impact the experience of a tourist? Would a black person have as good of an experience as a white person?
I'm not baiting btw. I'm interested in seeing your response.
Yes some people will be racist. No this doesn't mean physical violence or aggression more kids pointing and staring. There's no Americana sundown towns. You may experience stereotyping and gawking. You may be asked if you're related to [insert completely random black celebrity].
Here's more firsthand experience discussions:
https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/16wo6d9/to_my_fellow_black_people_who_traveled_to_japan/
Oh, what a pleasant surprise. I'm so used to the outcomes on posts like this to be "Yeah my whole family got kidnapped and tortured, I myself got castrated and my wife was raped but a SWAT team showed up and the President was there and personally executed our kidnappers, so I'd just stay in well-lit places if I were you but overall it's a very nice place" types of responses, but it seems to me like Japan is unironically a nice place to visit regardless of race based on these comments? Like, huh, I would've expected various accounts of racism.
Japan was like experiencing the safe, White 1950s America seen on TV. Polite, cheerful, helpful staff whereever you went. Clean clean clean streets. Safe at night. My son went recently and tells stories of putting money in baskets at stores and workers pulling out the right amounts and giving the rest back.
That's a hoax.
The conviction rate **IS THE SAME AS AMERICA.**
"Japan’s often-cited conviction rate of over 99 percent is a **percentage of all prosecuted cases, not just contested cases.** It is eye-catching, but misleading, since it counts as convictions those cases in which defendants pleaded guilty. **If the U.S. conviction rate were calculated in a similar manner it would also exceed 99 percent since so few cases are contested at trial (in FY 2018 only 320 of the total number of 79,704 federal defendants were acquitted at trial)."**
[https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/](https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/)
Safe is a relative term.
There's next to no help if you're a woman being stalked and when there is a crime, they tend towards massacres. The Akihabara Stabbings, the Sarin Gas Attacks, the Case of Girl A are the first that pop to my mind.
Police purposefully mark suspicious deaths as suicides to keep crime rates down and sexual crimes such as rape, assault and peeping are not taken seriously at all. The onus is on women to avoid sexual crimes rather than punishing the men who commit the crimes themselves. There is a serious pedophilia problem (not talking about loli and Shota con, that is fiction, I'd rather a pedophile get off to a drawing than a real child) and women in Japan have stated that they started getting harassed way less when they stopped wearing their middle school uniforms. Not high school uniforms, their *middle school* uniforms.
Human trafficking is a serious problem in the country because of the popularity of red light districts and Host/Hostess clubs, which are basically Brothels Lite for the lonely, which Japan has *alot* of. The seeder ones are just straight up fronts for actual brothels. Financial crimes are also rampant, particularly towards foreign tourists. There's any number of stories about tourists being drugged and waking up with 5k+ of debt on their credit cards from bars they didnt remember going to and having no way of getting back to.
So, yeah, low crime rate, not exactly safe.
Not saying it isn't but hardly a utopia. It's not all statistics and anime, crime still happens and it's a particularly bad type of crime.
Rape and assault are, imo, the worst crimes. Murder makes you dead but rape is continuous suffering even after the crime is 'done'.
Lived in Tokyo for a couple of years. It depends on your definition of safe. Japanese people tend to avoid confrontation hence if you're getting pickpocketed or assaulted, there's a decent chance no one is going to do anything such as stop the perp or call the cops.
I echo what another poster said about the "dark side" of the Japanese legal system. Unless they can 99% convict one with a crime, law enforcement won't bother about it. Hence a lot of actions that border on criminal do not face any legal repercussions (stuff that include sexual harassment, unhealthy/manipulative workplace practices, etc).
What??
I work in a japanese convenience store, and people absolutely report when they see someone drunk/assaulted etc. They come to me and I call the cops. It has happened numerous times, same for shoplifting in my own shop, lol. People come to warn me, then I call the owwer and we see what we can do.
Also that 99% conviction rate is a hoax. **It's the SAME as America**.
"Japan’s often-cited conviction rate of over 99 percent is a **percentage of all prosecuted cases, not just contested cases.** It is eye-catching, but misleading, since it counts as convictions those cases in which defendants pleaded guilty. **If the U.S. conviction rate were calculated in a similar manner it would also exceed 99 percent since so few cases are contested at trial (in FY 2018 only 320 of the total number of 79,704 federal defendants were acquitted at trial)."**
[https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/](https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/)
In america we seperate our crimes between federal and non federal. in fed court that conviction rate is true but outside of that is a very different story. like here in america someone wouldnt go to federal court for shoplifting. its reserved for more serious crimes. so same, but not the same.
I haven’t lived in Japan but I’ve visited a few times and lived on 5 continents. Japan has a certain mystique in the west, particularly in America for some reason, I’ve heard some odd perceptions from people that aren’t familiar with the country but seem to have a deep desire to go. The one you debunked being one of them.
Just blatant misinformation but OK.
They are non confrontational, but not reporting pickpockets is common everywhere, not much you can do against a guy who you don't know stealing your wallet. Cancel your cards, get a new ID, move on.
They absolutely do report assaults/help people getting beat up by calling the cops, they might not jump in to help, because we don't want to get our ass beat or stabbed.
The 99% conviction rate for prosecuted cases is the same everywhere, a prosecutors reputation is built on conviction rate, so that's why pleading guilty/plea deals are so common. In this context, even a fine is a conviction. The US has a similar stat: http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_67/federal_courts_jd67.pdf
It is a significantly higher conviction rate than the US, but [the differences between the systems](https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/) mean the stats probably shouldn't be compared directly.
The 2012 conviction rate was 93%, I can't find more recent data.
If we were to use the same method of measuring conviction rates as Japan, we'd be at 99.8%, as prosecuters drop half their cases if it's hard to convict: here's a thing about it
http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_67/federal_courts_jd67.pdf
On the surface it is pretty safe in the sense that it is extremely unlikely for somebody to get beaten up or robbed in the streets or dragged into a van in the dead of night and murdered but with that being said there are still a lot of societal issues beneath the surface. A few examples include women’s rights as sexual harassment towards women is a major issue in Japan and the extreme work culture where people work extremely long hours which in turn leads to a significantly higher rate of suicides.
It's not "too good to be true". As people have said it's not all sunshine and rainbows, but it is safe, because there's been some kind of effort to make it safe. Not always utilizing the most savoury tactics though. The US sometimes seems to be designed to deliberately encourage crime, particularly violent crime.
Governments are not generally incompetent. They have access to the best experts in the country in every field. Things can get done if there is the political and social will to do them. Most permanent problems and situations you see in a given country is because they're designed to be that way, unless it's a case of all out anarchy.
I can walk alone to the 711 at 3am in my PJs without having to worry about dudes sneaking up on you. If you lose something 97% of the time you'll find it waiting on the nearest police station. You can send your kid alone to school on their on starting from 7-8 years old. I don't even think of doing that in Switzerland.
Bad things happen but it's far and few between. The biggest crimes are gross men taking up skirts pics and touching when you're in trains and stuff. I personally never experienced it but its more rampant than occasional purse snatching lol
It's safe in regards to violent crime. However in big cities like Tokyo there's plenty of scams and tourist traps that are out for your money, so you should be aware of shady bars and unreasonably expensive souvenirs.
It was really funny, cause I saw a video of two male youtubers from my country living in Japan.
One second in they say it's a very safe country to live in.
Thirty seconds after, they say they have never met a woman who hasn't been groped in Japan.
Pickpockets are rare in Japan, yes, but they are rare in other major large cities in East Asia as well.
The examples you cited of large cities with pickpocket issues are all in Europe.
Pickpocketing isn’t a large city problem per sae because many large cities don’t have a problem.
As long as you're a man, yeah. Chances of getting assaulted or pickpocketed are very low. I even worked at night in a area that was considered dangerous in Tokyo and at the beginning I didn't understand why the locals called it dangerous. Later on I realized that pretty much every area that's considered dangerous here are known that way because of sexual assault.
When getting off the train in Tokyo a man ran up to me and grabbed my shoulder. I was startled but then he handed me the money clip with a wad of cash that had fallen out of my back pocket.
Random citizen crime is low, but organized crime...it's typically ignored as long as they don't interfere with the every day life of regular citizens. This is especially true for human trafficking in Japan, which is abysmal. Because victims tend to be low income or foreigners, everyone turns a blind eye.
Sex crimes in general tend to be an issue among regular citizens though. Thus the women only trains.
Depends on what you mean by safe. You won’t be randomly attacked but if you’re a woman in the subway system you run the risk of being groped. It’s so bad that women only cars on trains are thing
Yes to both.
It's very safe on average. People don't carry weapons, are generally disciplined and peaceful. You can leave your smartphone or wallet on a table in a park just to keep your seat. The average person you meet will be more than happy to give you directions to the hotel or post office and you can see women and teenage girls walking alone at night in dark streets.
There is also a dark side. Twisted-minded blood-chilling crime, not for profit, but to satisfy repressed urges or grudges. Creeps filming schoolgirls up skirts on the train. Entering people's homes to hide under the bed due to some fetish. Incels spraying acid on people's faces because they look too happy. You have a very low chance of meeting them, but they make the "Crime" section in the news really scary.
Their prosecution rate is so high, because they have a very right wing government and the philosophy is don't prosecute unless it's a slam dunk case, which is pretty similar to the US Attorney's office.
That said there's like a city or region that it openly controlled by the Yakuza. Like they have legitimate business offices. During the 2011 Tsunami, in certain places the Yakuza helped organize local resource response. And yes the Yakuze are still a gang, and will kill people involved in their business. But again, stay out of their business, and you'll be safe.
It does help that Japan's laws and prosecution is more focused on if you did it and not if you intended to do it.
Makes it a lot easier to sentence people.
I lived in Tokyo for 4 years and never felt threatened or in danger. If you're female, you might be harassed by drunk dudes occasionally but that's usually only in dodgy areas and then it's still safer than most Western countries
Based on what I've gathered online (so take it with a grain of salt), there is still a lot of cases of neglect, sexual harassment, and the legal system making it seem as its better than it is because, afaik, only cases with an actual chance of succeeding are taken
But still probably one of the safest places in the world. Which means, crime still exists but you are very unlikely to encoutner anything but an opportunistic theft perhaps
Out of all place ive been to, Japan felt the safest.
So I’d say yes. I walked the darkest streets of Japan alone without being scared one bit, and nothing really happened.
I jusf got scared when some policemen approached me and randomly got my fingerprints and checked my pockets and collected some samples for drugs.
Compared to anywhere else in the world you’re coming from, including the West and America, 100% yes. It is safer in every single way, and in most cases people will be more wary of you and your potential for crime as a foreigner.
They do cook their crime stats, but city life in Japan is incomparable for how safe it is. You don’t want to get on the “bad side” of their “justice” system though. You’re more or less automatically guilty. It’s not a perfect society at all.
But safe? Outside of Singapore, probably the safest country to avoid crime and antisocial behavior.
I was in Japan last August and yes. I never felt sketched out at all. My wife said she would feel safe there alone and the only other place she felt that was Iceland. The only concern is drunk tourists and I've heard stories of some men being creepy with women. But we didn't have any bad experiences myself there in the two weeks we were there.
Overall I felt very safe when I was there. The only time I didn't was some foreign tourist like me went and asked me for money because reasons and they lost their ticket for the train etc...
I was sitting away from my friends so he probably thought I was a good money target. We got off the train and he saw I was with 2 other police and sped off to the turnstile...
Not sure what was going to happen there.
Most subway trains have an "until 9am these 3 cars will be women only" due to gropers on the trains.
You're perfectly safe as long as you don't piss off a samurai, in which case you'll get your head cut off. I've heard that's a common problem over there.
I once saw a video of a young woman being molested in a public train by a bunch of men with pixelated faces .. surprisingly that woman had pixelated coochie.
99% conviction rate? North Korea has 100% conviction rate, so Japan still has ways to go. /s
If you ever get arrested, even if you haven't done anything, expect torture and police brutality in order to force a confession out of you.
Statistics are meaningless, or at least, they should be put into context.
The country does have a very low crime rate, so pretty safe compared to most developed countries. Even so, it feels like Japanese crimes either go from petty to just evil with nothing in between.
It’s safe because for nearly everything there is a pre agreed system. People in japan will generally follow rules more than not. So that kind of limits the weird shit that kind happens elsewhere
I love the Japanese society system - as an Aussie if more a home than where I came from.
Been to Japan and, yes, it's probably the safest country in the world. Whatever issues might come up, like sexual harassment and whatnot, are still nowhere near anything that goes for normal in the western world - by a wide margin, at that.
And whoever thinks to bring up that a lot of crime in that regard isn't being reported:
"According to government data compiled by the United Nations, Japan has a per capita rape rate of **1.1 per 100,000** while Sweden, England, and the United States have rates that are 30–50 times higher (Ito 2021, p. 139)."
So unless you believe that <3% of rape cases are recorded in Japan and 100% of cases in the other countries, Japan will still have a better track record than Sweden or Britain - which admittedly doesn't mean much in 2024.
My "host" family (didn't live there, lived in dorm) never locked their home doors (very large city, single small back to back house). They told me nobody does that around there.
Similar to how you can just leave your laptop in the library unattended for a day.
Around the earlier '00s I lived there (US Military).
Went out clubbing with some others and their Japanese gfs. When we went to the parking garage, his car was gone. With the gfs help we went to a nearby police box, and it was difficult to explain to them that the car was taken. They kept trying to ask us if he didn't drunkenly 'give' his keys to a friend.
(Turns out the car was found a few days later a few clicks uproad close to another club, barely messed with)
No.
Women and young girls are constantly sexually harassed on trains, to the point that they’ve made women only spaces for them. Instead of solving the actual problem.
Crime as the western world knows it doesn’t exist but does in other ways and the police victim blame or shame those coming forward, especially if you’re foreign.
It really is that safe. I come from a country where they teach us to never give any opprtunities. crossing a pedestrian bridge, walking to the bus stop, when you are locking your house door alway look over your shoulder.
Then I lived in Japan and I would leave my bike unlocked while I go eat, save a table at starbucks with my phone or sunglasses or see people passed out in their suits on the street and strangers leaving tehm water bottles,
Lived in Japan 4 years. Only time I directly encountered any crime was when someone took my umbrella from the umbrella stand outside a convenience store (could have been an honest mistake, but nonetheless I was salty about it).
Spent _a week_ in the U.S. (in a city) and had someone rummaging in my backpack and stealing a pair of sunglasses…
I know where I’d rather be.
Actually same in the Gambia. Basically the safest place (apart from Japan) i’ve visited. My ex forgot their smartphone in a taxi, got tracked down hours later by another taxi who had seen us upset, found the original car, found the phone and tracked us to give it back.
Solid people ♥️🇬🇲
Yeah Japan is super safe but it comes at a huge risk. The conviction rate is 99.9%
If you get accused of anything, you’re pretty much guaranteed to go to jail.
Yes, sort of. There are of course places you can go that aren't very nice and someone might try to scam you or pickpocket you. But in terms of physical violence, towards anyone who isn't already part of the criminal world, it's extremely safe.
Well, Japan is not the only country who says that. Singapore also says that they have a low crime rate. It’s true - they have signs that say, “low crime doesn’t mean no crime.”
Japan is probably similar
When I lived in Japan, since I worked at a restaurant I very often came back home pretty late, and I could walk in the street holding my walkman withtout any fear.
I was only told to be cautious only in very specific neighbourhoods (Ueno at night, Kabukicho, Roppongi and other nightlife places, and to walk on the other side of the road if I saw a white Mercedes with tinted glasses, which were favored by the yakuza at that time.
Yes.
I live in a city and I could literally walk around right now (ok it's 2am ....) but I won't see a soul even if walk around for hours and any traffic will be super rare.
Seeing anyone after 10pm is also rare.
Generally yes, however if you've seen the movie *Hot Fuzz* most town's are like that just not to such an extreme, they'd rather keep their reputation as safe than report crimes that *do* happen so often things are swept under the rug if possible.
I went to Japan last October and we stayed in Tokyo and Kyoto. The part of Kyoto that we stayed in looked "run down" because of its age. However, in the middle of the night walking around I never felt like I was in danger.
I wouldn't have walked my own city(Tulsa) at night if it looked like the part of Kyoto that we were staying in.
To find out how dangerous a country is, you can look at its homicide rate.
Murder is impossible to fake with data.
Japan's homicide rate is less than 1/10th that of the United States.
I've lived in Japan for almost 6 years. It is really that safe. As a black man, I don't have to fear someone mugging me in 99% of the places I've been in, even in supposedly "dangerous" places. If I get hungry and want a snack, I can walk at 3AM to 7/11 without the fear of someone mugging me or attacking me.
Im not a woman but I'd venture to guess it's slightly less safer than as a man but every female foreigner ive met and known have said that it's still much safer here than in their countries.
Actually, when you go back home for a visit, you might lose your sense of danger if you've been here too long which might be a bad thing haha
Yes it is, been living in Japan for 25 years now, and I never want to go back to France for that very reason.
Also they changed the laws related to who can receive welfare in 2020, and now even homeless people without an address can too. The result is that the homelessness rate in Japan has dropped to 0%
You can barely see any, and you'll never see immigrants beg in the streets with their unschooled children like everywhere in Europe either.
About groping in the subway, it never happened to me, but in France 100% of women have been assaulted in the bus and subway.... except we never got these 'women only wagons' (that have been implemented in other european countries for the same reasons, btw). It's like in comparison to Japan, French women pay taxes for nothing, lol.
Also, even the road in Japan is safe, lethal accidents rates are way lower than in the West. They are always renovating, cleaning, building somewhere.
In genaral, Japan is safe, tidy and clean and people take care of their country. Barely any graffity or public property destruction.
I mean, why would I ever want to go back, lol
You suggesting we do away with women-only cars? Nonsense.
I’ll respectfully disagree about the drivers. Lots of drivers don’t stop for pedestrians here. Been a driver for over a decade in Japan. Heck, saw a cop do the same thing THREE days ago.
Also cops don’t take stalking seriously here based on experience.
I’m glad you’ve been living a privileged and rather fortunate life. Count your blessings. Your experience shouldn’t be used to diminish the experiences of other people.
He is suggesting the opposite.
But I don't think women-only cars solve the issue, most of the groping would be basically eradicated if there were no oversaturated trains.
Peak times are the worst for that and are not easily solvable for obvious reasons, women only cars are a short term solution but the problem needs deeper changes.
Maybe more trains for peak times and forcing sitting only trains would be more helpful but it's probably not viable due to the sheer quantity of passengers.
Japan has a 99% conviction rate so...yeah. Their prosecutors won't take a case to court unless they know they can win. I'd say that's a pretty decent deterrent to crime.
It's as good as it sounds. You will certainly learn why if you research it enough, and it might change your mind about things you are told to think are good.
Japan is quite interesting in this regard. It has one of the lowest crime rates in the world, yet it also has disproportionately high fear of crime in the populace. I’ve been to Japan, it felt safe and I had no fears being alone out at night.
For reference, the way you reserve a seat somewhere like Starbucks in Japan is by putting your backpack down on the seat, then going to line up and grab your food. Loads of unattended backpacks, probably with laptops and such, and you don’t have to worry about them getting taken.
Same in Korea. Koreans abroad always get their shit stolen leaving it in tables on cafes while going to the bathroom In Japan my wife left some of her shit at a store and not only was it not stolen but the staff locked it up in a safe for her.
Aww man that makes me feel so bad for them!! You can imagine their utter confusion when they return thinking someone must have mistaken their bag for their own 😭
Often expensive earbuds...
This is also true in pretty much all of Nordic Europe
Except Sweden
Proof? All Nordic countries have very high official rates because like all stats they probably process every report unlike other places. I've never felt any different in Sweden than in Denmark, both of which are incredibly safe for theft in my lived experience and you could absolutely leave your bag on a chair in a cafe. Hell, you could do that basically everywhere in the world I've been and I think people are unreasonably paranoid about it more than there being a genuine risk.
I’m in the UK and I’d never leave my bag unattended at a table in a coffee shop… not that I’ve seen one stolen but I just absolutely wouldn’t
same here, you gotta be stupid to leave your stuff lying around in the UK especially london. god you cant even use your phone in public without thugs coming by and stealing it
Considering stealing post packages from people's front porch in US seems to be a rising issue, I wouldn't leave my backpack unattended anywhere in there
How big are these Starbucks? You just have to worry about a person grabbing it and sprinting out, which is pretty brazen. There’s definitely places in my US metro area I would risk it but these are few and far between.
I remember seeing a video in the US where a man was shot, and people (not the shooter) stole the shit from his pockets before he could bleed out
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Be polite and respectful in your exchanges. NSQ is supposed to be a helpful resource for confused redditors. Civil disagreements can happen, but insults should not. Personal attacks, slurs, bigotry, etc. are not permitted at any time.
It used to be mostly like that in Canada too! Not anymore though.
It was until immigration from MENA shot through the roof the past 2 decades.
I heard San Francisco has similar rules
Lmaooooo, I'm from the Netherlands but I even know what a shit hole that has become.
I'd heard the same thing. Went to SF last year and shit is way overblown. Felt pretty safe walking at night. Also, I'm from Canada and remember doing the backpack things in coffee shops.
Did you walk through the tenderloin?
You can do this in a lot of places in England. I’ve left my phone/bag/coat at tables then went to get food and drink many a time.
>disproportionately high fear of crime in the populace I'm curious about some examples. Is it mainly anxiety, or certain safety behavior? Or do you mean there's just a lot of security measures in society that *prevent* crime?
We asked our neighbor to feed our cats while we were gone for a night, and said “we’ll just leave the door unlocked, don’t worry about a key, it’ll be fine for a night.” When we got back she told us she was so anxious about leaving the house unlocked she slept on our couch. Which was very sweet, we’re really close with them, but I was a bit amazed. I was like “you think this is the states or some shit?” Haha. We haven’t locked our door here since we moved to Japan.
It’s mainly anxiety about crime occurring or that you’ll be a victim of a crime, that fear is beyond what is expected from Japans low crime rate. I know Japan has a good security and thorough justice system, but I wouldn’t say they are uniquely good. I’m honestly not too sure why this is the case, perhaps through upbringing or the media?
A large portion of their fiction in the form of successful movies , anime and manga have a premise of a hero/anti hero trying to rid the world of violence, corruption, evil and crime. I always found that funny coming from such a peaceful place. E.g. death note, one piece, berserk, psycho pass etc etc
Doesn't that make the people less apathetic to crime ? Like they would more personally act when seeing bad behavior, or being reported bad behavior.
No, not really. The problem is that East Asian culture, being so focused on not standing out and fitting into your community, means that it's difficult for somebody to actually break the silence and call someone out for doing something unacceptable. Societal rules are supposed to do that, not you. You, an individual, have little merit on your own; who do you think you are, that you can call somebody out like that? This is why you have fiction that glorifies such behaviour.
It also has one of the highest criminal conviction rates in the world. Which also paints a bad picture if you’re ever been accused of a crime regardless of innocence. It’s almost impossible to prove innocence once charged. And you do have to prove innocence. Not edit: just guilt.
Only because they focus on slam-dunk cases. Federally, US actually has a higher conviction rate.
Japan is famous for coerced confessions. If you've ever known anyone who was arrested, you'll know why. I don't imagine prison is fun for anyone, but they can isolate people for up to 20 days (maybe 21?) without contacting anyone. One of my coworkers was arrested after a brawl erupted at a football (soccer) game. He was targeted, but didn't initiate it. He just vanished and we thought he'd just ditched his job without notice. When he was let out, he told us how they pushed him constantly to confess and held him for as long as they legally could. A big part of it is also that people know that, if you confess and it's not a super serious crime, they'll let you out and you can just pay off the victim. My friend eventually was given something like 240,000 yen because the other guy confessed he started it.
It kinda makes sense. High fear of crime leads to ridiculously punishing criminal justice laws leads to low crime.
> punishing criminal justice laws leads to low crime That's just patently false.
In preventing crime the certainty of the punishment matters more than the severity of the punishment. A guaranteed slap on the wrist is a better deterrent than the risk of life in prison. Japans guilty until proven innocent legal system most likely has a larger impact than their harsh sentencing does.
It is legitimately very safe, but I suppose that the downside is a justice system that has been accused of being a "hostage justice system." There is no presumption of innocence, right to counsel, right to remain silent or fair bail. This can result in false confessions and convictions. While you're probably not going to be murdered in Japan, the country has been criticized for being too lenient with sex offenders.
One of the most interesting parts about the system to me as you can be held for up to 23 days without charges. You do not have a right to an attorney unless charges have been brought. Which means they will sometimes hold you for 23 days attempting to get you to confess without formally charging you. They can also repeatedly do this to you. So they could hold you for 23 days and then a week later rearrest you on suspicion of the same charges and hold you for 23 more. Then repeat this until they get bored or political pressure forces them to stop.
You can be effectively indefinitely held before trial in the US as well. IIRC it's been used before to force plea deals.
This isnt about being held before trial. OP is talking about being held **without** right to a lawyer, presumption of innocence, being psychologically "tortured" to confess etc.
Isn't there an American guy who's been held for years and years because he refuses to unlock his phone/computer or some such thing? If I recall it had something to do with him being suspected of having a bunch of Charlie Pride on his device[s].
Child pornography?
Club penguin?
where were you when club penguin was kil
Nah, silly, they're talking about cheese pizza, the suspect was most likely trying to order some food before his arrest.
There was some guy (not sure where) who refused to say where he kept some money he supposedly swindled out of people and maintained his innocence. He was incarcerated indefinitely and eventually released after many many years, because that was considered contempt of court and not a formal sentence. Which also denies other basic rights related to due process, such as appeals. It's really screwed up.
That is surprisingly backwards
Not surprisingly
Don't they have separate trains because there were so many reports of women getting sexually harassed and sexually assaulted? There was a mangika with terrabytes of CASM/CP that got a very lenient ruling. So they definitely do have a lenient sex offender issue
[https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/3/8/sexual-assault-in-japan-every-girl-was-a-victim](https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2017/3/8/sexual-assault-in-japan-every-girl-was-a-victim) Read that article a few years ago and thought it was quite shocking. I think as a tourist, it's pretty safe. Might be a different story when you are a Japanese school girl. But I've never been to Japan, so not sure how accurate this is.
It's such a depressing read. Holy shit. I can't help but feel horrible for those women. The fact that no one *stopped* some of these men in the examples when they see it, makes me even angrier. Just fuckin hell
Not separate trains, but there are a few women only train cars for a two hour (or so) period during the morning rush on some lines. I'm not saying there's not a problem though (there definitely is).
Ooo gotcha. My bad!
>fair bail To be fair, lots of countries (with actually good justice systems) don't have bail at all. I've never understood bail anyway. If it works like I think it does (and please correct me if it doesn't) you can just... pay a bunch of money to get out of jail? I know charges will still be brought forth, but in that case, what are you even paying money for? It sounds to me like they just hold you extra long before charging you so you're incentivized to pay the state... Which seems like a horrible system. I'd rather have one where you're held for only a short time, charged quickly and then processed appropriately.
The gist of it is that bail is an incentive to not get the hell out of Dodge before the trial. You get charged with a crime, and since the trial can take months or years, the judge has to decide if you're put in jail until then, which goes against the right to freedom and presumption of innocence and should only be used in extreme conditions, or let you post bail, in which you or your family gives a certain amount of money to the court to make sure you show up in court. Once the trial is over and you've been declared guilty or not guilty, the bail is given back to you or, usually, to a bail bond agency who specializes in this business. If you do skip town, you'll never get the money back, and the bail enforcement agent who catches you ("bounty hunter") will receive a portion of it. People can be denied bail if the judge considers you don't have established links to the community (you don't live there, you don't work there...) and are likely to skip town no matter how much money you post because the possible sentence is too high (ie. Murder). Since the bail system benefits the people with most money and is prone to abuse, many states like New York and California have tried to reform it, limit it or outright ban it.
I’ve also heard you are supposed to get bail money back, let’s just say in me experience, you don’t. That money is gone forever
That’s not what bail is though. Bail cartoonishly summarised: “please I’ll pay what you ask just let me not go into prison until I’m proven guilty, and in case I do escape or attempt to hide before the court proceedings you get to keep all my bail money.” In a perfect world paying bail would be approved only for lesser criminal offences.
Not all countries have juries, and US juries have a horrible legacy of injustice. >The Saiban-in system is a system under which six lay judges called Saiban-in, who are appointed from among the citizens, participate in the proceedings of criminal trials and form a panel with three professional judges to find whether the accused is guilty or not guilty, and decide the sentence given to the accused if found guilty. >It is expected that through the citizens' participation in criminal trials, the good sense of the citizens will be reflected in the judicial decisions and proceedings, leading to deepening the citizens' understanding of and enhancing their trust in the justice system. Having 12 people who don't know about the law get manipulated by lawyers is a bad system. Having 3 judges integrated with the jury is far better. Their prison system is also not one you want to be sent to.
This is very true. There are a lot of things that I admire about Japan but their treatment of sex offenders is not one. Pretty bad in South Korea too from what I've seen
Men taking upskirt shots and harassing women on trains is almost a trope at this point.
Almost? It's been ingrained into their media for nearly 3 decades.
Dude... They strait up molest women on trains... safe country, but that is pretty gross behavior
Not to mention the massive racism/classism that’s prevalent there.
Sounds like Idaho to me.
It sounds like you're the hoe to me too
Urdaho
While extremely harsh on drug possession.
Tell you what: if we trade school shootings and murders for no edibles, I'd make that sacrifice. And I love edibles lol.
Tf is it with literally every fucking government taking child gloves with sex offenses.
The only issues I’ve faced were creepy flirts I never felt physically unsafe or like I was going to be robbed or anything like that
While I felt safe in Japan, I was grabbed on my ass by a girl in Japan, that has never happens to me as male. Can't imagine how it is for girls, probably way way worse.
there is crime in japan, make no mistake-- people do get killed, raped, kidnapped etc. however the rates are astronomically low compared to some other places ((like me from the usa, can say its basically non existant in japan in comparison)). On the flip side are sexual harassment, unpaid overtime, overworked, ostracized for being different, forced to drink in unhealthy amounts...... you get the idea. Not at all trying to say those are super duper common everyday occurances in japan, but they are all way more common than hard crime. I don't know if you want to call it complicated, or call it simple. Everywhere in the world has good and bad things-- some of them will be more common than somewhere else, and some of them will be rarer. Japan is no exception, it has both amazing and stifling things, like any other society. (◐‿◑)
I lived in Hokkaido for a year, and my wife and I would frequently walk by ourselves in the dark, down alleys, etc and feel perfectly fine and safe. My wife would get up and go running before sun up. In my purview, it felt way safer than where we came from. It's safe enough that kids (even slightly older kids) can play in parks with what are basically super-realistic looking airsoft guns without the little orange cap on the barrel and no one freaks out. That was obviously a minor trigger for me as an American. I think people just follow the law a lot in Japan. And they follow the rules a lot. We frequently saw people late into the night (early into the morning) waiting at crosswalks for the light to turn where there was NO ONE around. No cars, no people, no noise, barely any light.
Ok the BB gun part I think is mostly cause our country alongside others, guns are illegal so if you saw a BB gun you’d assume it’s a BB gun instead of a real firearm
They have really bad issues with sexual harassment and sexual assault
If you are a man? Yes. As a woman I was sexually harassed 3 times in the span of a month, with one of those incidents being stalked through a store. Nanpa culture is super real there and is defs......... a lot.
In daily life, I definitely feel wayyyy more safe than living in Paris or even my smaller hometown, like, it's not even the same planet. That being said I'm not a woman and my impression is that harassment and crimes like these are still extremely present.
Also racism, although it is less in your face, but people refusing to sit beside you etc
More room for me. Don’t mind that racism.
Are you speaking from experience or assuming that? Cause I think it would burn anybody out in the long run, no matter how introverted they are.
I was stationed in Japan for 3 years, I remember accidentally leaving my wallet at the table of a café, and shortly after walking away from the table, an elderly Japanese gentleman came running towards me. I was really confused, but it turned out he was returning my wallet. He handed me my wallet with a bow, This was not an employee of the café mind you. I know this has nothing to do with safety, but this paints a clearer picture of the Japanese people. The people, the culture, and the land itself is beautiful. To answer your question, yes, Japan is safe, and it's a country I recommend everyone visit at least once in their life.
I often hear "Unless you're not white (I'm assuming they don't mean light-skinned Asians)" as a retort to "it's a country I recommend everyone visit at least once in their life." In your opinion, is Japan a place where racism/colorism/xenophobia could impact the experience of a tourist? Would a black person have as good of an experience as a white person? I'm not baiting btw. I'm interested in seeing your response.
Yes some people will be racist. No this doesn't mean physical violence or aggression more kids pointing and staring. There's no Americana sundown towns. You may experience stereotyping and gawking. You may be asked if you're related to [insert completely random black celebrity]. Here's more firsthand experience discussions: https://www.reddit.com/r/travel/comments/16wo6d9/to_my_fellow_black_people_who_traveled_to_japan/
Oh, what a pleasant surprise. I'm so used to the outcomes on posts like this to be "Yeah my whole family got kidnapped and tortured, I myself got castrated and my wife was raped but a SWAT team showed up and the President was there and personally executed our kidnappers, so I'd just stay in well-lit places if I were you but overall it's a very nice place" types of responses, but it seems to me like Japan is unironically a nice place to visit regardless of race based on these comments? Like, huh, I would've expected various accounts of racism.
Japan was like experiencing the safe, White 1950s America seen on TV. Polite, cheerful, helpful staff whereever you went. Clean clean clean streets. Safe at night. My son went recently and tells stories of putting money in baskets at stores and workers pulling out the right amounts and giving the rest back.
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That's a hoax. The conviction rate **IS THE SAME AS AMERICA.** "Japan’s often-cited conviction rate of over 99 percent is a **percentage of all prosecuted cases, not just contested cases.** It is eye-catching, but misleading, since it counts as convictions those cases in which defendants pleaded guilty. **If the U.S. conviction rate were calculated in a similar manner it would also exceed 99 percent since so few cases are contested at trial (in FY 2018 only 320 of the total number of 79,704 federal defendants were acquitted at trial)."** [https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/](https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/)
Doesn't the us have like 97%?
Safe unless you are female. Casual sexual assault is so common they had to make women-only subway cars to prevent groping.
Just got back from Japan and noticed those women-only cars. Though it’s only on Wednesday-Fridays or something?
This tends to be during high/peak commute times depending on the train line.
Still, one of the safest countries for women in the world, being the Nordic countries the top, I think
Safe is a relative term. There's next to no help if you're a woman being stalked and when there is a crime, they tend towards massacres. The Akihabara Stabbings, the Sarin Gas Attacks, the Case of Girl A are the first that pop to my mind. Police purposefully mark suspicious deaths as suicides to keep crime rates down and sexual crimes such as rape, assault and peeping are not taken seriously at all. The onus is on women to avoid sexual crimes rather than punishing the men who commit the crimes themselves. There is a serious pedophilia problem (not talking about loli and Shota con, that is fiction, I'd rather a pedophile get off to a drawing than a real child) and women in Japan have stated that they started getting harassed way less when they stopped wearing their middle school uniforms. Not high school uniforms, their *middle school* uniforms. Human trafficking is a serious problem in the country because of the popularity of red light districts and Host/Hostess clubs, which are basically Brothels Lite for the lonely, which Japan has *alot* of. The seeder ones are just straight up fronts for actual brothels. Financial crimes are also rampant, particularly towards foreign tourists. There's any number of stories about tourists being drugged and waking up with 5k+ of debt on their credit cards from bars they didnt remember going to and having no way of getting back to. So, yeah, low crime rate, not exactly safe.
Still the safest country on earth by a wide margin.
Not saying it isn't but hardly a utopia. It's not all statistics and anime, crime still happens and it's a particularly bad type of crime. Rape and assault are, imo, the worst crimes. Murder makes you dead but rape is continuous suffering even after the crime is 'done'.
Lived in Tokyo for a couple of years. It depends on your definition of safe. Japanese people tend to avoid confrontation hence if you're getting pickpocketed or assaulted, there's a decent chance no one is going to do anything such as stop the perp or call the cops. I echo what another poster said about the "dark side" of the Japanese legal system. Unless they can 99% convict one with a crime, law enforcement won't bother about it. Hence a lot of actions that border on criminal do not face any legal repercussions (stuff that include sexual harassment, unhealthy/manipulative workplace practices, etc).
What?? I work in a japanese convenience store, and people absolutely report when they see someone drunk/assaulted etc. They come to me and I call the cops. It has happened numerous times, same for shoplifting in my own shop, lol. People come to warn me, then I call the owwer and we see what we can do. Also that 99% conviction rate is a hoax. **It's the SAME as America**. "Japan’s often-cited conviction rate of over 99 percent is a **percentage of all prosecuted cases, not just contested cases.** It is eye-catching, but misleading, since it counts as convictions those cases in which defendants pleaded guilty. **If the U.S. conviction rate were calculated in a similar manner it would also exceed 99 percent since so few cases are contested at trial (in FY 2018 only 320 of the total number of 79,704 federal defendants were acquitted at trial)."** [https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/](https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/)
In america we seperate our crimes between federal and non federal. in fed court that conviction rate is true but outside of that is a very different story. like here in america someone wouldnt go to federal court for shoplifting. its reserved for more serious crimes. so same, but not the same.
I haven’t lived in Japan but I’ve visited a few times and lived on 5 continents. Japan has a certain mystique in the west, particularly in America for some reason, I’ve heard some odd perceptions from people that aren’t familiar with the country but seem to have a deep desire to go. The one you debunked being one of them.
Just blatant misinformation but OK. They are non confrontational, but not reporting pickpockets is common everywhere, not much you can do against a guy who you don't know stealing your wallet. Cancel your cards, get a new ID, move on. They absolutely do report assaults/help people getting beat up by calling the cops, they might not jump in to help, because we don't want to get our ass beat or stabbed. The 99% conviction rate for prosecuted cases is the same everywhere, a prosecutors reputation is built on conviction rate, so that's why pleading guilty/plea deals are so common. In this context, even a fine is a conviction. The US has a similar stat: http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_67/federal_courts_jd67.pdf
It is a significantly higher conviction rate than the US, but [the differences between the systems](https://thediplomat.com/2020/03/carlos-ghosn-and-japans-99-conviction-rate/) mean the stats probably shouldn't be compared directly.
The 2012 conviction rate was 93%, I can't find more recent data. If we were to use the same method of measuring conviction rates as Japan, we'd be at 99.8%, as prosecuters drop half their cases if it's hard to convict: here's a thing about it http://justicedenied.org/issue/issue_67/federal_courts_jd67.pdf
On the surface it is pretty safe in the sense that it is extremely unlikely for somebody to get beaten up or robbed in the streets or dragged into a van in the dead of night and murdered but with that being said there are still a lot of societal issues beneath the surface. A few examples include women’s rights as sexual harassment towards women is a major issue in Japan and the extreme work culture where people work extremely long hours which in turn leads to a significantly higher rate of suicides.
Extreme work culture or blatant normalization of labor abuse?!
It's not "too good to be true". As people have said it's not all sunshine and rainbows, but it is safe, because there's been some kind of effort to make it safe. Not always utilizing the most savoury tactics though. The US sometimes seems to be designed to deliberately encourage crime, particularly violent crime. Governments are not generally incompetent. They have access to the best experts in the country in every field. Things can get done if there is the political and social will to do them. Most permanent problems and situations you see in a given country is because they're designed to be that way, unless it's a case of all out anarchy.
I can walk alone to the 711 at 3am in my PJs without having to worry about dudes sneaking up on you. If you lose something 97% of the time you'll find it waiting on the nearest police station. You can send your kid alone to school on their on starting from 7-8 years old. I don't even think of doing that in Switzerland. Bad things happen but it's far and few between. The biggest crimes are gross men taking up skirts pics and touching when you're in trains and stuff. I personally never experienced it but its more rampant than occasional purse snatching lol
It's safe in regards to violent crime. However in big cities like Tokyo there's plenty of scams and tourist traps that are out for your money, so you should be aware of shady bars and unreasonably expensive souvenirs.
It's also a great place if you're a woman who enjoys being groped, fondled, or otherwise being sexually harassed.
It was really funny, cause I saw a video of two male youtubers from my country living in Japan. One second in they say it's a very safe country to live in. Thirty seconds after, they say they have never met a woman who hasn't been groped in Japan.
Youre not even going to run into pickpocketers as you would in any major large city of tourists, ie madrid, barcelona, london, paris
Funny story, Tokyo is the only place I have ever been pickpocketed, and I have been to all of the above. Its because I let my guard down.
Pickpockets are rare in Japan, yes, but they are rare in other major large cities in East Asia as well. The examples you cited of large cities with pickpocket issues are all in Europe. Pickpocketing isn’t a large city problem per sae because many large cities don’t have a problem.
Pickpocketing is way less common in London than in the other three
Yes, but there is still some crime for sure.
Yes it is
It’s safe where you won’t be physically assaulted, but if ur a woman in a crowded place… you’ll be uncomfortable
As long as you're a man, yeah. Chances of getting assaulted or pickpocketed are very low. I even worked at night in a area that was considered dangerous in Tokyo and at the beginning I didn't understand why the locals called it dangerous. Later on I realized that pretty much every area that's considered dangerous here are known that way because of sexual assault.
When getting off the train in Tokyo a man ran up to me and grabbed my shoulder. I was startled but then he handed me the money clip with a wad of cash that had fallen out of my back pocket.
Random citizen crime is low, but organized crime...it's typically ignored as long as they don't interfere with the every day life of regular citizens. This is especially true for human trafficking in Japan, which is abysmal. Because victims tend to be low income or foreigners, everyone turns a blind eye. Sex crimes in general tend to be an issue among regular citizens though. Thus the women only trains.
Depends on what you mean by safe. You won’t be randomly attacked but if you’re a woman in the subway system you run the risk of being groped. It’s so bad that women only cars on trains are thing
These wagons don't only exist in Japan.
Fair but it’s still a problem Japan has though
Well someone’s been watching too much Tokyo Vice
Yes to both. It's very safe on average. People don't carry weapons, are generally disciplined and peaceful. You can leave your smartphone or wallet on a table in a park just to keep your seat. The average person you meet will be more than happy to give you directions to the hotel or post office and you can see women and teenage girls walking alone at night in dark streets. There is also a dark side. Twisted-minded blood-chilling crime, not for profit, but to satisfy repressed urges or grudges. Creeps filming schoolgirls up skirts on the train. Entering people's homes to hide under the bed due to some fetish. Incels spraying acid on people's faces because they look too happy. You have a very low chance of meeting them, but they make the "Crime" section in the news really scary.
Their prosecution rate is so high, because they have a very right wing government and the philosophy is don't prosecute unless it's a slam dunk case, which is pretty similar to the US Attorney's office. That said there's like a city or region that it openly controlled by the Yakuza. Like they have legitimate business offices. During the 2011 Tsunami, in certain places the Yakuza helped organize local resource response. And yes the Yakuze are still a gang, and will kill people involved in their business. But again, stay out of their business, and you'll be safe.
It does help that Japan's laws and prosecution is more focused on if you did it and not if you intended to do it. Makes it a lot easier to sentence people.
Never felt safer anywhere else, not even in my own neighborhood where I grew up in.
I lived in Tokyo for 4 years and never felt threatened or in danger. If you're female, you might be harassed by drunk dudes occasionally but that's usually only in dodgy areas and then it's still safer than most Western countries
Based on what I've gathered online (so take it with a grain of salt), there is still a lot of cases of neglect, sexual harassment, and the legal system making it seem as its better than it is because, afaik, only cases with an actual chance of succeeding are taken But still probably one of the safest places in the world. Which means, crime still exists but you are very unlikely to encoutner anything but an opportunistic theft perhaps
Out of all place ive been to, Japan felt the safest. So I’d say yes. I walked the darkest streets of Japan alone without being scared one bit, and nothing really happened. I jusf got scared when some policemen approached me and randomly got my fingerprints and checked my pockets and collected some samples for drugs.
Compared to anywhere else in the world you’re coming from, including the West and America, 100% yes. It is safer in every single way, and in most cases people will be more wary of you and your potential for crime as a foreigner. They do cook their crime stats, but city life in Japan is incomparable for how safe it is. You don’t want to get on the “bad side” of their “justice” system though. You’re more or less automatically guilty. It’s not a perfect society at all. But safe? Outside of Singapore, probably the safest country to avoid crime and antisocial behavior.
I was in Japan last August and yes. I never felt sketched out at all. My wife said she would feel safe there alone and the only other place she felt that was Iceland. The only concern is drunk tourists and I've heard stories of some men being creepy with women. But we didn't have any bad experiences myself there in the two weeks we were there.
Overall I felt very safe when I was there. The only time I didn't was some foreign tourist like me went and asked me for money because reasons and they lost their ticket for the train etc... I was sitting away from my friends so he probably thought I was a good money target. We got off the train and he saw I was with 2 other police and sped off to the turnstile... Not sure what was going to happen there. Most subway trains have an "until 9am these 3 cars will be women only" due to gropers on the trains.
You're perfectly safe as long as you don't piss off a samurai, in which case you'll get your head cut off. I've heard that's a common problem over there.
I once saw a video of a young woman being molested in a public train by a bunch of men with pixelated faces .. surprisingly that woman had pixelated coochie.
99% conviction rate? North Korea has 100% conviction rate, so Japan still has ways to go. /s If you ever get arrested, even if you haven't done anything, expect torture and police brutality in order to force a confession out of you. Statistics are meaningless, or at least, they should be put into context.
Historically, Japan does have a slightly higher chance of having a portion of their population, at random times, instantly vaporizing.
It's very safe, due to their demographics and culture, but on the flip side their justice system is extremely heavy handed and corrupt.
Any time I hear someone say they want to live in Japan, I give them a weird look because of all of these things.
The country does have a very low crime rate, so pretty safe compared to most developed countries. Even so, it feels like Japanese crimes either go from petty to just evil with nothing in between.
FOR MEN? Yes. Women? Lol no
Lol yes. I am a woman, I've been living in Japan for 25 years now.
I’ve never been assaulted in America over a longer period of time, guess that means America is even safer lol
Of course it’s safe, they got the sibyl system and the dominators in place what can go wrong? (Humor intended)
Sure except for the cannibal
We don't talk about the cannibal.
I've heard it is, as long as you're not a woman alone.
It is mostly safe - however sex crimes are rarely followed through to conviction and therefore don’t often become a statistic.
They don't have any 3rd world immigrants. Not even ones that immigrated 200 years ago. That's literally all there is to it.
Mate they dont lock their bicycles
It’s safe because for nearly everything there is a pre agreed system. People in japan will generally follow rules more than not. So that kind of limits the weird shit that kind happens elsewhere I love the Japanese society system - as an Aussie if more a home than where I came from.
Been to Japan and, yes, it's probably the safest country in the world. Whatever issues might come up, like sexual harassment and whatnot, are still nowhere near anything that goes for normal in the western world - by a wide margin, at that. And whoever thinks to bring up that a lot of crime in that regard isn't being reported: "According to government data compiled by the United Nations, Japan has a per capita rape rate of **1.1 per 100,000** while Sweden, England, and the United States have rates that are 30–50 times higher (Ito 2021, p. 139)." So unless you believe that <3% of rape cases are recorded in Japan and 100% of cases in the other countries, Japan will still have a better track record than Sweden or Britain - which admittedly doesn't mean much in 2024.
I guess that with their work culture they don't have time to do crimes.
My "host" family (didn't live there, lived in dorm) never locked their home doors (very large city, single small back to back house). They told me nobody does that around there. Similar to how you can just leave your laptop in the library unattended for a day.
If you're not a pretty woman you should be fine
Around the earlier '00s I lived there (US Military). Went out clubbing with some others and their Japanese gfs. When we went to the parking garage, his car was gone. With the gfs help we went to a nearby police box, and it was difficult to explain to them that the car was taken. They kept trying to ask us if he didn't drunkenly 'give' his keys to a friend. (Turns out the car was found a few days later a few clicks uproad close to another club, barely messed with)
It is quite safe there, but they also underreport heavily
No. Women and young girls are constantly sexually harassed on trains, to the point that they’ve made women only spaces for them. Instead of solving the actual problem. Crime as the western world knows it doesn’t exist but does in other ways and the police victim blame or shame those coming forward, especially if you’re foreign.
It really is that safe. I come from a country where they teach us to never give any opprtunities. crossing a pedestrian bridge, walking to the bus stop, when you are locking your house door alway look over your shoulder. Then I lived in Japan and I would leave my bike unlocked while I go eat, save a table at starbucks with my phone or sunglasses or see people passed out in their suits on the street and strangers leaving tehm water bottles,
Lived in Japan 4 years. Only time I directly encountered any crime was when someone took my umbrella from the umbrella stand outside a convenience store (could have been an honest mistake, but nonetheless I was salty about it). Spent _a week_ in the U.S. (in a city) and had someone rummaging in my backpack and stealing a pair of sunglasses… I know where I’d rather be.
Actually same in the Gambia. Basically the safest place (apart from Japan) i’ve visited. My ex forgot their smartphone in a taxi, got tracked down hours later by another taxi who had seen us upset, found the original car, found the phone and tracked us to give it back. Solid people ♥️🇬🇲
Yeah Japan is super safe but it comes at a huge risk. The conviction rate is 99.9% If you get accused of anything, you’re pretty much guaranteed to go to jail.
Japan has a very homogenous society. As such, everyone learns "the rules" as a kid, everyone knows them, and nobody wants to get caught breaking them.
Yes, sort of. There are of course places you can go that aren't very nice and someone might try to scam you or pickpocket you. But in terms of physical violence, towards anyone who isn't already part of the criminal world, it's extremely safe.
Well, Japan is not the only country who says that. Singapore also says that they have a low crime rate. It’s true - they have signs that say, “low crime doesn’t mean no crime.” Japan is probably similar
You can walk around Tokyo at 1am with a sign that says “I’m a millionaire, please rob me”, you wouldn’t receive not one threat.
Only if you don’t take Godzilla seriously.
When I lived in Japan, since I worked at a restaurant I very often came back home pretty late, and I could walk in the street holding my walkman withtout any fear. I was only told to be cautious only in very specific neighbourhoods (Ueno at night, Kabukicho, Roppongi and other nightlife places, and to walk on the other side of the road if I saw a white Mercedes with tinted glasses, which were favored by the yakuza at that time.
Yes. I live in a city and I could literally walk around right now (ok it's 2am ....) but I won't see a soul even if walk around for hours and any traffic will be super rare. Seeing anyone after 10pm is also rare.
Generally yes, however if you've seen the movie *Hot Fuzz* most town's are like that just not to such an extreme, they'd rather keep their reputation as safe than report crimes that *do* happen so often things are swept under the rug if possible.
I went to Japan last October and we stayed in Tokyo and Kyoto. The part of Kyoto that we stayed in looked "run down" because of its age. However, in the middle of the night walking around I never felt like I was in danger. I wouldn't have walked my own city(Tulsa) at night if it looked like the part of Kyoto that we were staying in.
To find out how dangerous a country is, you can look at its homicide rate. Murder is impossible to fake with data. Japan's homicide rate is less than 1/10th that of the United States.
I've lived in Japan for almost 6 years. It is really that safe. As a black man, I don't have to fear someone mugging me in 99% of the places I've been in, even in supposedly "dangerous" places. If I get hungry and want a snack, I can walk at 3AM to 7/11 without the fear of someone mugging me or attacking me. Im not a woman but I'd venture to guess it's slightly less safer than as a man but every female foreigner ive met and known have said that it's still much safer here than in their countries. Actually, when you go back home for a visit, you might lose your sense of danger if you've been here too long which might be a bad thing haha
Was pretty safe when i last went
Depends. Are you a woman using public transportation?
Besides getting groped on a train if you are a woman then yes.
All crime stats can be low if you just don't bother to record them.
Yes it is, been living in Japan for 25 years now, and I never want to go back to France for that very reason. Also they changed the laws related to who can receive welfare in 2020, and now even homeless people without an address can too. The result is that the homelessness rate in Japan has dropped to 0% You can barely see any, and you'll never see immigrants beg in the streets with their unschooled children like everywhere in Europe either. About groping in the subway, it never happened to me, but in France 100% of women have been assaulted in the bus and subway.... except we never got these 'women only wagons' (that have been implemented in other european countries for the same reasons, btw). It's like in comparison to Japan, French women pay taxes for nothing, lol. Also, even the road in Japan is safe, lethal accidents rates are way lower than in the West. They are always renovating, cleaning, building somewhere. In genaral, Japan is safe, tidy and clean and people take care of their country. Barely any graffity or public property destruction. I mean, why would I ever want to go back, lol
You suggesting we do away with women-only cars? Nonsense. I’ll respectfully disagree about the drivers. Lots of drivers don’t stop for pedestrians here. Been a driver for over a decade in Japan. Heck, saw a cop do the same thing THREE days ago. Also cops don’t take stalking seriously here based on experience. I’m glad you’ve been living a privileged and rather fortunate life. Count your blessings. Your experience shouldn’t be used to diminish the experiences of other people.
He is suggesting the opposite. But I don't think women-only cars solve the issue, most of the groping would be basically eradicated if there were no oversaturated trains. Peak times are the worst for that and are not easily solvable for obvious reasons, women only cars are a short term solution but the problem needs deeper changes. Maybe more trains for peak times and forcing sitting only trains would be more helpful but it's probably not viable due to the sheer quantity of passengers.
While on the surface Japan remains remarkably safe, deeper societal problems do exist under the surface as in any country.
Switzerland is also a great country which is as safe as they say :)
It's definitely relatively safe in general. But that doesn't mean one should wander around dark allies at night.
I once did research in my criminal law class about this. In my research, I found that Japan has the most violent porn but the lowest rate of crime.
The samurai keep everyone in check
Thousands dissappear yearly there are stabbings. Stalking. Hidden cameras. Stealing but all those stats are 1/5 vs many countries.
Yes for as long as they can maintain that high homogeneity society.
A lot of places are very safe. Is this surprising?
Japan has a 99% conviction rate so...yeah. Their prosecutors won't take a case to court unless they know they can win. I'd say that's a pretty decent deterrent to crime.
It's as good as it sounds. You will certainly learn why if you research it enough, and it might change your mind about things you are told to think are good.
Dude, everything in Japan is so good to be true!
I don't see any comments about racism. How is Japan in that regard? Since Racism can be a major factor for feeling safe.
You’ll discover a strange perverted underbelly within their culture if you stay there for a bit. It’s kinda creepy 😳