Barely any. I’ve forgotten my backpack on the train and my wallet at the supermarket and felt pretty secure they’d still be there when I returned hours/a day later, and they were. I leave my laptop unattended in cafes and nobody takes it. My friend only had his city bike stolen after 4+ years of not owning a bike lock. Women can generally wander the streets alone at 3am without worry. You still should have some amount of common sense and probably not do the above lightly, but knowing that your actual chances of getting in trouble is low is a great thing.
Most of the crime I hear of is stuff like people getting ripped off in rip off bars; perverts taking up skirt photos in crowded trains; desperate people taking insanely bad loans from loan sharks and then being intimidated to pay them; and the occasional off the chain beheading once ever now and then. Hence the general bewilderment when Abe got shot.
> My friend only had his city bike stolen after 4+ years of not owning a bike lock.
My friend had something similar after claiming you didn’t need to lock your bike in Japan. Only they didn’t take his bike. They locked it, and took just the key. It still brings a smile to my face to think about it.
I spent a few weeks in Japan and it was the safest I've probably ever felt.
Interestingly though there was one night I went out and my friend living in that city was glad I didn't get harassed for being gaijin - apparently the area I went out in is notorious for people being rough on foreigners (somewhere in Fukuoka close to 10 years ago)
Most of the crime I hear of is stuff like people getting ripped off in rip off bars; perverts taking up skirt photos in crowded trains; desperate people taking insanely bad loans from loan sharks and then being intimidated to pay them; and the occasional off the chain beheading once ever now and then. Hence the general bewilderment when Abe got shot.