🇯🇵 Japan (日本)
Visiting: Safe
Japan is very safe. There is no conflict at all, ranking 1st, and violent crime is close to non-existent, the 5th-lowest homicide rate. LGBT rights are solid, placed 54th, which is its weakest measure but still inside the top third. Women's safety is among the very best, road deaths are exceptionally few and freedom is as good as it gets, all ranking between 12th and 16th.
Homicide
Intentional homicides per 100,000 people — lower is better.
Japan: 0.2
Ranked 5th in the world for the lowest homicide rate.
Why this rank?
A fifth of a killing per 100,000 people a year is about as low as any country records and far under the one that marks the safest.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. About the lowest rate there is.
Road Fatalities
Road-traffic deaths per 100,000 people per year — lower is better.
Japan: 2.6
Ranked 13th in the world for the safest roads.
Why this rank?
Under three deaths per 100,000 people a year is well under the EU average of four and a half.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. One of the lowest rates in the world.
Why we updated the score?
The WHO's 2021 figure was the police's own count of deaths within 30 days of a crash. The police have published 2025, down again, so we've used the newer count.
Conflict — world number one
Conflict deaths inside the country in the last twelve months, as recorded by the Uppsala conflict database, civilians killed on purpose, and any UN sanctions or court order over a war. The worst of those sets the colour. Lower is better.
Japan: 1.00
Ranked 1st least conflict-affected country in the world.
Why this rank?
Nothing on record. The Uppsala conflict database has never recorded a conflict death in Japan since its records began in 1989.
Is it safe to visit?
Safe. None of it touches daily life.
Freedom
Six freedoms rated 0–4 by Freedom House — protest, speech, press, religion, movement and due process. The weakest rating sets the colour, and the total places the country inside it — higher is better.
Japan: 8.99
Ranked 16th freest country in the world.
Why this rank?
In Japan the lowest is press at 3. Total 23 of 24.
Is it safe to visit?
Political rights and civil liberties are well respected, and a visitor meets no restriction. Press is rated one step from the top, and gender-based discrimination remains a challenge.
LGBT Rights
LGBT equality in law and daily life — higher is better.
Japan: 5.3
Ranked 54th most equal in the world for LGBT people.
Why this rank?
Gay sex has been legal for over a century, but there is no recognition. Courts keep ruling the marriage ban unconstitutional while parliament passes a weak understanding law. Law and opinion score in the fifties.
Is it safe to visit?
Fine. Most prefectures issue partnership certificates and public support is high, though same-sex marriage is still not legal nationally.
Women's Safety
Women's safety — feeling safe out at night, political violence against women, a fair hearing in court, and how normal violence at home is, with the night figure setting a floor on the colour — higher is better.
Japan: 9.12
Ranked 12th safest country in the world for women.
Why this rank?
Seven in ten women feel safe out alone at night, violence at home is rare, and the courts rate high. Every input scores well, none at the top.
Is it safe to visit?
Japan is one of the safest places for a woman travelling alone.