774,142 criminal offenses reported in 2025, up for 4th consecutive year

774,142 criminal offenses reported in 2025, up for 4th consecutive year

"Coincidentally" is happening when most items in Japan price is getting higher.

Should include the average age too, for example yesterday JT wrote 71 year old being arrested for stealing.

https://japantoday.com/category/crime/two-suspects-arrested-for-stealing-wallet-from-sleeping-man-on-tokyo-train

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report also said the number of people arrested was 200,663. Of these, 7,333 were foreign visitors to Japan, 

So 3% of people being arrested are people who not really reside in Japan. Whose plan to invite more tourist in Japan?

https://www.planetattractions.com/news/Japan-targets-60-million-visitors-by-2030-after-exceeding-tourism-expectations/4124

bicycle thefts accounted for the largest proportion, at approximately 170,000.

Really hard to believe that 465 bicycles are stolen in Japan everyday.

There were 4,177 cases of non-consensual sexual intercourse

And more than 11 rapes every day? Every day?

That’s just horrible.

@David

That number is not including groping that underreported, many of victims who try to report being discouraged to report it somehow.

Really hard to believe that 465 bicycles are stolen in Japan everyday.

This figure would likely be easy to adjust upward if larger numbers were deemed advantageous for some reason, like budgeting purposes.

It starts with bicycle thefts.....

Many reports are probably drunken salarymen who forgot where they left the bike .

I doubt other countries even list this occurrence as a crime.....but...more crimes....more funding.

Japanese Police have the easiest policing job on the planet

And more than 11 rapes every day? Every day?

Yuck — it would be delighted to see this dreadful figure fall to zero.

bicycle thefts accounted for the largest proportion, at approximately 170,000.

As anyone living in Japan knows, the police can stop you for riding a bicycle without a light, or even just because they want to have a chat. If your name doesn't match the registration (either because you borrowed the bike, bought but forgot to register it, or found it in a ditch), they can haul you down to the station for processing. In other words, it's an easy way for cops to get their numbers up, without having to deal with truly dangerous criminals.

And more than 11 rapes every day? Every day?

That’s just horrible.

Perspective is a hell of a drug. You’re shocked by 11 reports a day in a country of 123 million?

In the US, that number is over 380. In the UK, it’s nearly 200. Japan’s 'worst' year is still a utopia compared to the average Tuesday in London, NYC, or Paris.

Japan is one of the few places on earth where a 7-year-old can take the subway alone at night or a woman can walk home without clutching pepper spray. Before calling Japan 'horrible,' maybe look at the war zones people call 'home' in the West.

Reported crimes. Not the number of crimes in the courts.

That number is not including groping that underreported, many of victims who try to report being discouraged to report it somehow.

"Oh, we’re playing the 'underreporting' card now? Cool. Let’s do the math.

If Japan’s numbers are underreported, then London, NYC, and LA are absolute horror shows. Even if you multiply Japan’s stats by 10 to account for the 'silence,' it still doesn't reach the baseline reported levels of most Western cities.

You claim Japanese police 'discourage' reporting? In the UK, the rape conviction rate plummeted to less than 2% in recent years. In the US, thousands of rape kits sit untested in storage for decades. Talk about 'discouragement.'

Every country has a long way to go for victims, but trying to paint Japan as uniquely 'horrible' while living in a Western society where women can't even walk through a park at night without a 360-degree head-turn is peak delusion. Japan’s 'darkest' stats are still brighter than the West’s 'safest' streets."

Foreigners!!!!

Perspective is a hell of a drug. You’re shocked by 11 reports a day in a country of 123 million?

Yes! Shocked.

Expectations. It’s not the Japan I know.

Whatever the exact number is in the U.S., I would expect it to be far greater than in Japan.

but trying to paint Japan as uniquely 'horrible' 

Nobody is. One rape is horrible. 11 a day are not justified just because it happens more frequently elsewhere.

Fewer than 200,000–250,000 result in formal indictment and trial, with the vast majority of suspects either not identified, not prosecuted, or receiving a suspension of prosecution (non-prosecution).

How many foreign residents of Japan are in this number? It would be a very high rate. Even tourists make up a large number.

Japan might be better off increasing the number of security cameras. According to the attached site, the number of security cameras per 1,000 people is as follows:

Cities of China: 494, Hyderabad, India: 79, Bangalore, India: 40, Lahore, Pakistan: 27, Seoul, South Korea: 24, Moscow, Russia: 19, Kabul, Afghanistan: 18, Singapore: 18, St. Petersburg, Russia: 18 ............................................ , Tokyo: 1

Privacy is important, but isn't this a bit too low?

https://www.comparitech.com/blog/vpn-privacy/the-worlds-most-surveilled-cities/

How many foreign residents of Japan are in this number? It would be a very high rate. Even tourists make up a large number.

This makes no sense, even high numbers can be a very low rate if the total is several orders of magnitude higher. Also being a tourist is not by itself a criminal offense so it would not matter how many foreign tourisest there are in Japan, only how many make criminal offenses.

When standard of living drops and people become economically challenged, the amount of thefts go up.

In 2025, crimes committed by foreign visitors and short-to-medium-term residents in Japan rose by 31.4% to 17,614 cases, continuing an upward trend post-pandemic. While total reported crimes are rising, foreign residents account for only a small percentage (around 5.5% in 2024) of total Penal Code offenses, with most foreign-involved crimes being theft. 

550 arrests for serious crimes (murder, robbery). Total cases remain significantly lower than the 2005 peak of over 43,000 cases.

Reported crimes. Not the number of crimes in the courts.

As is indicated in the article:

The NPA report also said the number of people arrested was 200,663

Just as the Chinese Communist Party says, public safety in Japan is definitely deteriorating!

Japan is dangerous! You'd be better off not coming!

The number of reported criminal offenses peaked in 2002 and continued to decline, but hit bottom in 2021 and began to increase.

The increase has been attributed to the easing of movement restrictions as part of COVID-19 countermeasures, but the fact that the number of cases is 3.4% higher than pre-COVID-19 levels makes the downward trend in public safety clear. The National Police Agency analyzed the situation as "severe."

Compared to 2019, the number of intellectual crimes such as fraud and sex crimes such as voyeurism and non-consensual indecent assault have more than doubled, and the number of violent crimes has increased by approximately 1.5 times. While theft has decreased by 3.5%, still not yet reaching pre-COVID levels, it has been increasing for four consecutive years since 2022.

In 2013, the total number of reported cases of specialized fraud and social media-based investment/romance scams totaled 42,900, the highest number ever, along with the amount of damage. The number of arrests for crimes related to Tokuryu's funding increased by 2,073 to 12,178. The majority of those arrested were fraudsters and drug offenders, and only a small proportion were core members of organizations targeted by police authorities.

I'd like to see China's crime statistics.

I don't think anyone knows, though lol

@Longhaul

"Oh, we’re playing the 'underreporting' card now? Cool. Let’s do the math.

It's not about playing card and doing "theoretical" math. Is about the fact. Even JT publish article few weeks ago about this.

https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/underreported-and-understudied-the-reality-of-sexual-assault-in-japan

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How well you know Japanese at all? Many Japanese would tend to keep for themselves, even when they are reporting the whole society will pretend the need to keep everything "harmonious"

https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/1e69xpj/help_friend_tried_to_report_chikan_police_did_not/

https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20210723/p2a/00m/0na/008000c

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/29/japan/molestation-problem-countermeasures/

https://waseda.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/41208/files/AjiaTaiheiyouTokyu_30_21.pdf

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So really sorry your knowledge that you got from elsewhere and your "theoretical" math just doesn't apply in Japan.

only a small percentage (around 5.5% in 2024) of total Penal Code offenses, with most foreign-involved crimes 

True, but they only comprise 3.2% of the population.

True, but they only comprise 3.2% of the population.

Not really a big difference considering the systematic abuse some receive as in the examples of the trainee system, the lack of local support that make it easier for foreigners to be caught (even if the actual rates of crimes would be equal as the nationals) and the extra crimes that come from being a foreigner (like overstay of a residence period).

For all you know in this number it could be included foreigners that break the law in things like being found to have double nationality.

The NPA report also said the number of people arrested was 200,663. Of these, 7,333 were foreign visitors to Japan, excluding permanent residents and those associated with the U.S. military.

SHOCKING!

This foreign invasion by deer-kicking criminals has to stop!

Fully 0.000017% of the 42.7 million visitors arrested. Almost 2 in every 10,000!.

https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20260121_20/

Having said that, it compares quite nicely to the 0.0001613% of Japanese nationals and residents arrested. That figure is 10 times higher...

For all you know in this number it could be included foreigners that break the law in things like being found to have double nationality.

Perhaps it could. My full name is Gordon Blake Graham if you'd like to report me. You seem to be of the Karen pursuasion. Have at it, Karen

America is fine. I travel all over for work and talk to a ton of people in all walks of life. It's completely functional and people are friendly, helpful, and kind.

Is our president an a$$hole? Sure is. Is ICE out of control? Sure is. Are inner cities a mess? Many are. But stop watching the "news" and looking at Twitter and come travel around sometime. You'll see...

In Japan, a visa overstay is not considered a criminal offense, but it is treated as an administrative violation under the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act. This distinction is important.

For those who imagine that visa overstays are included in the above criminal offenses...they are not.

America is fine

The U.S. homicide rate is around 5.7 murders per 100,000 people in 2023 (and estimates put it slightly higher in some 2024 datasets). 

Next time you watch an NCAA football game (100,000 fans), just imagine 6 people in the crowd getting murdered...then ask youself whether you would allow your kids to attend a game under such precarious conditions.

Unless you publish the percentage of foreign non perm residence crimes vs the percentage in 2019, I’m just going to read this as anti foreign rhetoric.

A visa overstay is not merely an administrative paperwork error; it is considered a serious violation of the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act and can be treated as a criminal offense. 

Under Japanese law, illegal overstaying is punishable by imprisonment with or without hard labor for up to three years, or a fine of up to 3 million yen (approximately $20,000 USD).

Also being a tourist is not by itself a criminal offense so it would not matter how many foreign tourisest there are in Japan, only how many make criminal offenses.

The NPA report also said the number of people arrested was 200,663. Of these, 7,333 were foreign visitors to Japan, excluding permanent residents

How many of the 200,663 were foreign residents of Japan?

The foreign population has increased in size, but crime has decreased from 43,000 in 2005 to 17,614 in 2025. The foreign population increased from 1.56 million in 2005 to 3.95 million in 2025.