It is said Japan is an extremely safe country to live at. Even Japanese themselves agree with it. You can walk with your phone in your pocked, save a seat at a restaurant leaving your stuff on the table or even walk late at night and you still wouldn't get mugged or harmed by anyone. Even if you lose your wallet or something important, chances are someone will bring it to the police station and the police officer will give your stuff back as long as they can identify those things belong to you. You can see children from age 6 in trains or the street heading to school by themselves.
Statics say there is only two gun related crime annually in Japan and 80% of Japanese population agree they feel comfortable about Japan's safety and public order.
To be honest, this is a very positive side of Japanese society and I'll miss this a whole bunch if I were to move somewhere else in the future. I think I would have to make a lot of effort to get used to paying attention and protecting myself in other countries because I find it hard that another country can beat Japan in terms of safety.
Still, it does not mean Japan does not have any crime, but it is unlikely to happen. The Global Peace Index ranked Japan the 9th most peaceful, safe country as of 2019. Under the criteria of digital, hygiene, infrastructure and public order, CNN ranked Tokyo in the 1st place and Osaka in the 3rd place as the safest cities among the 60 cities all over the world.


What would make Japan such a safe place with high public order?
A Chinese journalist describes the 5 reasons why Japan is safe and how Japanese do it. He analyzes Japan's safety carefully as a citizen of China where there is lots of crimes going on.
He explains,

1. "Japanese has a strong sense of autonomy."
From an early age, Japanese are thought well what is right or wrong to do. Discipline is a habit all Japanese have and this contribute to the safety in society.

2. "Japanese are very conscious of the law"
Japanese are told over and over not to steal or lie. It gives a sense of embarrassment for them to do so. So it is unlike Japanese will steal or lie.

3. "Japanese police makes it clear people will get arrested even from the tiniest crime they commit"
Even if someone steals a toilet paper at a super market store, that person will be arrested and charged with a fine (this actually happened in Japan). Japanese police does not stick to just one punishment standard but rather is flexible to charge and fine to all sorts of crimes unlike China.

4. "Criminals pay a high price in Japan"
Even if one commit a crime as small as stealing a toilet paper, this crime will forever remain in your record making it hard to get a job or even getting married. Especially, since reputation is very important for Japanese, committing a crime is a dumb thing to do. So this is too how crime is prevented.

5. "The high amount of police officers in Japan"
Other than big police stations located in each city, there are 交番(koban) also known as police box: a mini police station where police officers stand by 24/7 all over Japan. People can run in and make reports and it is also a place police officers can be sent from faster than a normal police station etc...

The journalist explains in conclusion "The safety and peace Japan has is due to Japanese society's maturity."

Living in Japan for more than two years, I could not agree more with this journalist. I think everybody does their part in Japanese society and know the consequences they will face if they dare to commit a crime. Although, the crime rate in Japan is not zero, it is a comfortable place for women, children, elderly and even the disabled to live in.