Is Japan safe to visit? What the advisories and data say

What each government said about Japan

The US uses four numbered levels, and its data feed gave Japan the lowest, Level 1, with a general reminder to take care when travelling abroad. Canada uses a national phrase plus optional regional advisories; for Japan the phrase was take normal security precautions and the feed showed no regional advisory. The UK gives no overall level and names areas only where it warns against travel; the Japan feed we read named none, though the page carries a regional note on the Fukushima Daiichi plant area.

Canada's dates need a note. The open-data file showed an update on 5 October 2026 tagged as a regular text update about removing information on a past storm from the natural disasters section, while the travel.gc.ca page itself said Last updated: 29 September 2026. Canada says editorial revisions do not change its Last updated field, so the two dates can differ.

Crime context, with the year

The World Bank indicator VC.IHR.PSRC.P5 republishes intentional homicide data compiled by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime. For Japan it shows 0.23 per 100,000 people for 2023 and 0.23 for 2022, against 0.25 for 2020 and 0.26 for 2018. That is below 1 per 100,000 in every year we read, but we do not rank countries here, the series counts only homicide, and it describes residents rather than visitors.

The advisories supply the other half of the picture. The UK tells visitors to take the same precautions they would at home and to get local advice on areas needing more alertness. Canada says crimes against foreigners are low but increasing, with petty crime such as pickpocketing and purse snatching occurring from time to time. We have not added a national police statistic beyond the homicide series.

Nightlife districts, drink spiking and touts

This is where the two European and North American advisories are most specific. The UK says Tokyo entertainment districts carry a higher risk of crime, particularly at night in and around clubs and bars, and that foreign nationals have been targeted for extortion, robbery, assault and sexual assault. It reports increased drink spiking and credit card fraud, with victims describing waking with no memory of events and finding large charges on their cards. The risk, it says, is higher in entertainment and nightlife districts across Japan, and it names four zones that Japanese police have identified in Tokyo: Kabukicho, Roppongi, Shibuya and Ikebukuro.

Canada names Kabukicho, Roppongi, Shibuya, Ikebukuro, Shinjuku and Golden-gai among the districts to be cautious in and reports spiking by bar staff or other customers with the aim of defrauding, overcharging, robbing or assaulting the person. It adds that overcharging disputes have led to violence.

The practical advice overlaps. Do not follow street touts, whom the UK calls kyakuhiki, into bars; the UK says they often misrepresent the services on offer and that entry charges may apply even if a free drink is promised. See a menu with prices before entering, confirm admission costs, keep track of what you order, never leave a drink unattended and carry only what you need, leaving spare cards and cash at your accommodation. The UK says British nationals have been arrested after disputes over bar bills. For victims of crime, Canada advises filing a police report at the nearest station and says the tourist hotline can help if police are hesitant to take a report from a foreigner.

Laws that surprise visitors

Both the UK and Canada stress that Japanese law and procedure differ from theirs. The UK says a person can be arrested and detained without charge for up to 23 days, even for minor offences, and Canada gives the same period and adds that questioning may begin before you see a lawyer. The UK says you must carry your passport or residence card, and Canada says police may ask for identification at any time.

On drugs, the UK describes zero tolerance and severe penalties, notes that a positive test for illegal substances can lead to charges whether or not you knew, and reports trafficking sentences of 6 to 17 years for British nationals. Canada warns that an increasing number of travellers report being used as unwitting couriers. The UK also says some common medicines are illegal to carry under the anti-stimulant law, including cold and flu products containing pseudoephedrine, some codeine painkillers and Vicks inhalers, and advises checking with the Japanese embassy before bringing medication. The UK adds that smoking is banned on the streets of Tokyo and some other cities outside designated areas, and that some facilities refuse entry to people with tattoos.

Wildlife appears in both texts. The UK says bear sightings and attacks have increased in parts of Japan, especially in mountainous and forested areas, and Canada names Akita, Niigata and Hokkaido, saying bears have been sighted in urban areas, resorts and on hiking trails. Both advise heeding local alerts and avoiding walking alone where bears have been seen.

Earthquakes, tsunami, typhoons, volcanoes and heat

We treat hazards as seasonal and general because conditions can change within days. Canada says Japan lies in an active seismic zone and experiences thousands of earthquakes each year, some triggering tsunamis, and that a tsunami can arrive within minutes of a nearby quake and the risk can last for several hours. The UK says to note instructions in hotel rooms and at stations and to follow local authorities, and points to Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) earthquake, tsunami and volcano information and to safety tips from the Japan Tourism Agency. Canada notes that active volcanoes are monitored and that local authorities can raise alert levels and order evacuations on short notice.

For storms, the UK gives the typhoon season as June to December, peaking from July to September, with the highest risk in southern parts, while Canada says typhoons usually occur from June to October and that Okinawa and surrounding islands are more vulnerable. Both mention landslides, flooding and transport disruption, and the UK's 28 August 2026 update added a note on flooding and heavy rain, which it says can worsen rapidly with little warning, especially in low-lying, coastal and mountainous areas.

Heat is a real hazard in summer. The UK says temperatures often exceed 35 degrees in July and August and that humidity makes it feel hotter, so heat stroke is a significant risk. Canada places severe heat waves between July and September and links to the Ministry of the Environment heat stroke alert page. If your dates fall in those months, build rest, shade and water into the plan.

Emergency numbers and the visitor hotline

The UK and Canadian pages print the same emergency numbers: 110 for police and 119 for ambulance and fire. JNTO's emergency page lists the Japan Visitor Hotline as 050-3816-2787, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, with English, Chinese and Korean support for emergencies such as illness or disaster and for general tourist information. The UK page prints the same number in international format and describes the line as English-language help during natural disasters. JNTO's page carried no date, so confirm the number on the official site before relying on it.

JNTO also runs a safety tips service for visitors, including a smartphone app that its site links to; we could not read the app's details, so check the JNTO safety tips page for how it works and which alerts it covers.

Health

The US CDC's Japan page, shown as last reviewed on 25 August 2026, asks all international travellers to be fully vaccinated against measles, says hepatitis A vaccination should be considered for most travellers and is recommended for higher-risk activities such as eating street food, recommends hepatitis B vaccination for unvaccinated travellers younger than 60, and suggests Japanese encephalitis vaccination for those staying a month or more or travelling frequently, but not for short urban trips. The UK names dengue, biting insects and ticks and pertussis among health risks to read about, and says medical facilities are of a high quality but treatment is expensive and patients should expect to pay the full cost.

Both governments advise travel insurance that covers medical evacuation.

A note for longer stays

On a longer stay a kitchen and laundry cut the number of evenings spent looking for food. The advisories name particular nightlife districts, so check where a listing sits relative to them. See Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto for our listings, and the table below for where we have stays in Japan. The table says nothing about safety, and the advisories above apply wherever you stay.

How to check current advice

Open the full country page of your own government, read the update note and any regional list, then read a second government's page. For weather, earthquake, tsunami and volcano information, use JMA, which the UK and Canadian pages both link. The sources below list the pages we used. Entry rules belong to the official Japanese immigration authorities; we give no visa advice. Levels, rates and incidents are point-in-time, and your own itinerary, season and activities will differ from any national figure.