Do you feel safer walking along a dark or deserted street at night in a city in your country or in Japan?

I feel much safer in Japan. Even in Okinawa, I feel safer than I would in the safest major city in America.

I feel safer in a 'Red Light District' in any major city in Japan than I do in any most cities in Australia.

I am from a small town so I would say, it is about the same. But if you are comparing big cities, Japan wins the safety feelings checks.

They both feel safe to me, for different reasons. I feel safe in Japan due to its low violent crime rate. I feel safe in America because I stay aware of my surroundings... and carry a gun.

I would say Japan, but at the same time I don't think the Japanese police would do a very good job of investigating a crime.

In Japan, hands down.

I feel safe in America because I stay aware of my surroundings... and carry a gun.

What you're saying is that in America you feel the need to arm yourself against attack. That is the opposite of feeling safe.

I feel safer in virtually any country other than mine (England). Friday or Saturday night back home, your chances of being abused, spat on or attacked were probably one in ten. England has a massive problem with drunk young fol k. A drunk young Japanese would more likely bow and apologise for his/her inebriated condition.

A drunk young Japanese would more likely bow and apologise for his/her inebriated condition.

Agreed. It is some of the older drunks that have given me some problems in the past, especially when they are not alone.

@PeaceWarrior

I hear you. Only, less chance of knife in the face from a drunk oyaji than a drunk teenaged Scouser.

In the past week a former United Nations employee described a pervasive culture of impunity inside the organization - one in which whistle-blowers are punished for exposing wrongdoing.

Amazing how some people think that if you walk along the streets of America, you will be attacked. Hogwash! Big cities are different, but there are still many areas in America where it is very safe to walk out at night, yes, over all, Japan as a whole, you can virtually walk anywhere and never have to worry about you safety, but this myth that America is a murderous country is totally untrue. Where we live, many people don't lock there car doors, it just depends. People need to stop watching too much TV and the movies!

@bass

The quotation's a mistake, right? Forgive me, seriously, I'm a bit slow these days....

For me it does not really matter, I do not worry about being troubled since I tower over everyone (in Japan more than in my country). However, when it comes to the surroundings and behavior on the streets in general, then Japan is definitely the more relaxed and comes across as safer. Hardly any stuck up youths who feel the need to prove themselves by picking on others (or at least less than in my country).

@Luca Liverpool's violent crime rate is lower than many places in the UK. Check the stats. I feel safer walking in my hometown than in many cities in the UK and abroad.

@Jimizo

Liverpool's violent crime rate is lower than many places in the UK.

I don't doubt you for a minute. But the bloke who punched me as I was getting into a taxi in Manchester was from Liverpool, as was the bloke who pulled a knife on me in Blackpool.

That said, I've got Scouse friends, so I see it's not all bad....

What you're saying is that in America you feel the need to arm yourself against attack. That is the opposite of feeling safe.

No, it's being responsible for oneself, luv.

It depends on the neighborhood.

Old Hawk, you don't make any sense. The fact that you need to carry a hand gun to feel safe in the states tells us all we need to know.

OldHawk, like most gun owners, suffers from a "homicidal fantasy" in which he entertains the notion of how thrilling it would be to legally blow away some wrongdoer, the way Charles Bronson or Clint Eastwood did it in the movies. What really happens following a fatal shooting, as we shall are now seeing in the case of George Zimmerman in Florida (the man who shot Trayvon Martin), is that the shooter winds up exhausting his life savings on attorney fees for the criminal and civil court cases (or sometimes both) that ensue. Perceived "self defense" with a firearm all too often results in years of litigation and/or years in prison.

Surely Japan beats almost anywhere except really small towns in Europe and (maybe US). And some other Asian cities also really safe (unless you run into a crazt Flip or some drunken expat in HK/Singapore), There is NOWHERE in Tokyo that I don't feel safe as long as I am minding my own business.

I'm from Toronto. Been in Japan 21yrs. Unfortunately T.O. isn't as safe as it was when I was a kid growing up there. Feel much safer in Osaka. If I were to ever move back there, it would be to some small town far away from Toronto, which used to be a great city.

Yeah, the police in my home city in Canada advise against walking downtown at night all together. So, I'd have to say Japan is better than that.

I have to watch my step more at night in Japan, and see more drunks passed out on the streets in Japan than in other countries.

I've walked around at night in Japan, the US, China, Mexico, Korea, Ghana, Thailand and several other places. I really don't feel unsafe unless I am in seedy districts.

I feel so much safer here even if I've experienced being groped a couple of times while walking home. In my country, I wouldn't even dare go out on the streets late at night.

I would say Japan, but at the same time I don't think the Japanese police would do a very good job of investigating a crime.

I agree. Although all my dealings with the police thus far have been positive, if I was caught up in a fight or something I do wonder whether they would do their job impartially, or automatically take the side of the Japanese person.

I'm originally from Sydney and I feel much safer there than other places I've visited in the world, but even the dodgiest areas of Tokyo still feel safer to me.

Japan is my country, so I guess I'd have to say both!

I'm from Glasgow, tough city but not as bad as the press would have you believe.... HOWEVER, I wouldn't wander around the city in the night. In Tokyo I feel safe... except when I see guys standing near large cars near an izakaya or little side street yakitori places. Compared to Glasgow Tokyo (to me) is somewhere I can relax and enjoy being in the middle of a city.

While Japan is safer overall I've actually been mugged and assaulted more in Japan than I have been after a life living in Detroit. I think my appearance and size have something to do with it, over in the US I'm left well enough alone but over here I often feel like a spectacle or whatever ambling drunk or idiot kid that seems to think picking a fight with me will impress his flunkies. While I do concealed carry when I'm back at home the fact that I'm more in sync with the environment and that I understand the danger ques better plays more of a role than the fact I'm armed.

My feelings on the matter are based on anecdotal evidence and are entirely subjective.

...but this myth that America is a murderous country is totally untrue. Where we live, many people don't lock there car doors, it just depends. People need to stop watching too much TV and the movies!

How about the case of two young British guys a few years ago who were lost and stopped at a rural house in America to ask for directions and were shot down by the house owner? Yeah, really safe.

"While Japan is safer overall I've actually been mugged and assaulted more in Japan than I have been after a life living in Detroit."

You either have the worst luck in the world or you're stretching the truth.

Agree with the only reason I feel safe is due to my CCW permit here in my state. In Japan I know I do not need my gun to feel safe. Japan hands down with a higher feeling of safety.

I agree with OldHawk. I carry wherever I go. Not because I feel scared, but to protect myself and others if the need arises. It's a personal preference. Also, like TheQuestion I have experienced more crime and run-ins with the police in Japan than my time living in Detroit, MI and Charlotte, NC.

It beggars belief how many fellow Americans carry guns "just in case". It shows what a mess our country is.

@Thunderbird

http://www.minorityperspective.co.uk/2010/09/22/racist-attacks-report-reveal-an-increasingly-unsafe-britain/

You call that safe???

Look, I have been to the UK, don't even think that just because you don't have guns that it is a totally safe place. Like in America, there are places that are safe and some places that are unsafe, but I have been to safe areas in the UK and safe areas in the states. I feel safe. In my 40 something years, I was never shot or car jacked or whatever. Never seen anything disturbing. Sorry to disappoint you, but yes, there are many safe places, but as with the media goes, "sensationalism" sells, of course. If you want to make headlines and you say, in rural America, it is quite safe, no one will pay attention or buy the paper. But if you say, someone was hacked to death, that would make headline news. People like to read about mayhem, that is what they teach you in Journalism school. That is the rough nature of how we as humans are. You never slowed your car on the highway to see what happened, who died or got hurt. We don't want to admit it, but humans have a subconscious deep affinity for disaster.

It beggars belief how many fellow Americans carry guns "just in case". It shows what a mess our country is.

yes, and most countries that don't, carry knives. Which is equally messy. Either way, if someone wants to kill you, they don't need a gun. Europe has a knife problem, I know, because I grew up in Europe for 22 years and had a few knife attacks. I don't want to be shot or knifed! Both seem bad to me.

I carry wherever I go. Not because I feel scared, but to protect myself and others if the need arises.

You feel the need to protect yourself and others = you do not feel safe.

http://www.minorityperspective.co.uk/2010/09/22/racist-attacks-report-reveal-an-increasingly-unsafe-britain/

You call that safe??? Look, I have been to the UK, don't even think that just because you don't have guns that it is a totally safe place.

Imagine how much more dangerous it would be if the drunken yobbos described in that link all had guns, and if their prospective victims also all had guns to protect themselves with. Sheer hell.

most countries that don't, carry knives.

People in most countries of the world feel the need to carry knives to protect themselves because they can't get guns? Do you seriously believe that??

@cleo

You feel the need to protect yourself and others = you do not feel safe.

I DO feel safe. I have a Glock 10mm, so NO, I am NOT worried, not all, so yes, I do feel very safe. Never had to use it, live in a great area is the last resort.

Imagine how much more dangerous it would be if the drunken yobbos described in that link all had guns, and if their prospective victims also all had guns to protect themselves with. Sheer hell.

It would be. That's why I would never live in a dangerous area.

People in most countries of the world feel the need to carry knives to protect themselves because they can't get guns? Do you seriously believe that??

http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/alarming-rise-in-knife-crime-26860386.html

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10871712

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/29/uk-sees-sharp-rise-in-fat_n_154011.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1036154/A-knife-attack-4-minutes-130-000-year--ministers-insist-crime-rates-falling.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/18/opinion/sunday/europes-new-fascists.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-19606136

Uh, yes, I seriously do!

Sorry bass4funk, but ever single one of those links goes to a story about yobbos/criminals/fascists using knives to hurt innocent people. Not a one is about people carrying knives for protection. You have not shown any reason for seriously believing that people in most countries of the world feel the need to carry knives to protect themselves because they can't get guns.

I very much doubt the people here claiming they 'feel safe' because they carry a gun for protection would want to be associated with the knife-carrying scum, but for those of us who dob't feel the need for 'protection', they all look the same. People packing for the purpose of hurting others.

I would never live in a dangerous area.

Then why do you feel the need to carry a weapon?

@cleo

Sorry bass4funk, but ever single one of those links goes to a story about yobbos/criminals/fascists using knives to hurt innocent people. Not a one is about people carrying knives for protection.

I had no idea you knew what every person concealed under their clothing. When I was growing up in Germany, I always carried a knife and many of my friends as well, why? We needed to protect ourselves from drunken hooligans and Neo-nazi skinheads. You can say what you want, but I lived it and I know for a fact that There IS a knife problem in Europe, just like there is gun problem in other countries, NOT only the US. But don't give me the holier than thou attitude that Europe is some safe haven. Again, you might feel safe where you are just as I feel safe where I am at.

I very much doubt the people here claiming they 'feel safe' because they carry a gun for protection would want to be associated with the knife-carrying scum, but for those of us who dob't feel the need for 'protection', they all look the same. People packing for the purpose of hurting others.

I packed for protection, that made me feel safe, like a baby sucking his thumb.

Then why do you feel the need to carry a weapon?

piece of mind. I also do martial arts. So I guess, it would fall under the same purpose. Whether I use my body to ward off an attack or if I use a weapon, either way, I want peace, but if you try to hurt me or my family. I will use ANY necessary force to neutralize that threat.

bass4funk, my question was whether you seriously believed that people in most countries of the world feel the need to carry knives to protect themselves because they can't get guns. I have not claimed and would not suggest that Europe is 'some safe haven'. Please don't put words into my mouth and then use them to back up your own ideas.

There IS a knife problem in Europe

Europe is not 'most countries in the world'.

that made me feel safe, like a baby sucking his thumb.....piece of mind. I also do martial arts.

So it isn't about being safe, it's about your own sense of insecurity? A mental problem, not a physical one? Nothing to do with any real threat, it's all in your mind? And for that it's OK for tens of thousands of people to die each year in gun-related incidents?

if you try to hurt me or my family. I will use ANY necessary force to neutralize that threat.

Why do you imagine people are trying to hurt you?

i've been hassled a lot more by the police than the criminals here in japan

i've been hassled a lot more by the police than the criminals here in japan

What if you were a foreigner or minority in your own country?

What if you were a foreigner or minority in your own country?

cops where i'm from like to bust any heads, minority or otherwise. besides, there are a ton of minorities and even a lot of foreign born citizens on the police force. i don't have the statistics to back that up, you can take my word for it or not

@cleo

my question was whether you seriously believed that people in most countries of the world feel the need to carry knives to protect themselves because they can't get guns. I have not claimed and would not suggest that Europe is 'some safe haven'. Please don't put words into my mouth and then use them to back up your own ideas.

I'm not putting words in your mouth, but you seem for some reason to think that the US is a nation full of bandits, cowboys and outlaws, by the way you are commenting.

So it isn't about being safe, it's about your own sense of insecurity? A mental problem, not a physical one? Nothing to do with any real threat, it's all in your mind? And for that it's OK for tens of thousands of people to die each year in gun-related incidents?

I have no idea as to what you want me to believe, but I am secure, if you don't agree with me, that is your prerogative, but you know nothing about me being secure or insecure. You ar not Dr. Phil, so please, no need to try to analyze me. I don't do it to you, you don't need to do it to me, just two people disagreeing that's it. Nothing wrong with that. As well, many people die from being stabbed, where is the outrage of these tragic incidents?

Why do you imagine people are trying to hurt you?

NOT imagine, but I am a minority of mixed heritage and in Europe, I have been a target of racial attacks on a couple of occasions.

Europe is not 'most countries in the world'.

Allow me please to rephrase my earlier statement. "Most of Europe" There, I fixed it for you.

You feel the need to protect yourself and others = you do not feel safe.

Lets not mince words, I never feel safe. My experiences abroad have been less than satisfactory. I've gotten in more fistfights in the Japan and the UK than I ever did in the US (and in all those instances I ended up as the foreigner in jail rather than the locals that went after me).

What if you were a foreigner or minority in your own country?

Every one of my friends that has come to visit me in Detroit have been stunned at how much better it is than they imagined (now at least). None of them have been assaulted in bars, or mugged in broad daylight, or accosted by police at random. If they ever did get in trouble I tell them to do the same things that I do when the cops take me aside in other countries, cooperate fully, if they can't understand you through your accent use your call to get a translator, don't act angry even if you are, and tell the truth no matter what. Every country has their share of jerk officers but if you act well enough you might get the more decent officers in the station to come around to your side.

Why do you imagine people are trying to hurt you?

Can't speak for other posters but I know exactly why other people keep trying to hurt me abroad. I'm a 6'9 hispanic looking man that frequently travels alone. The most common greeting I get in the UK after 8 pm usually has something to do with me being "a big [expletive]" followed by either getting a free drink or a bunch of drunks taking shots at me, its hit or miss mostly siding towards the free drinks but the other option happens often enough for me to have personal space issues. In japan it follows the same rough pattern only without the possibility of a free drink.

you seem for some reason to think that the US is a nation full of bandits, cowboys and outlaws

Well that's the way it's described by the 'we need our guns for self-protection, we're surrounded by evil criminals out to do us harm' gang.

you know nothing about me being secure or insecure

Only that you say yourself that carrying a gun is no different to a baby sucking a thumb to feel safe.

Allow me please to rephrase my earlier statement. "Most of Europe" There, I fixed it for you.

For me? No, for you. You're the one who made the claim about 'most countries in the world'. But that little backtrack doesn't change the fact that you have provided no evidence at all that people in 'most of Europe' carry knives for self-protection. All we have is the links to reports of yobbos carrying knives to hurt people, and your own anecdote that you and your friends carried knives in Germany - was that really for protection, or another thumb-sucking exercise?

Only place that I have had to watch my back and my pockets has been Roppongi, that place is a sty and I wish the cops would go through there with a giant water hose and get rid of the lowlives.

Other than that I can walk at anytime in any other parts with a worry.

They should have "LOL" as an option.

@JoeBigs: I live right next to Roppongi and it's fine for me. Everyone I know who lives around there is quite sophisticated so the problem is non-Roppongi residents and foreigners chasing easy Japanese girls.

@cleo

Well that's the way it's described by the 'we need our guns for self-protection, we're surrounded by evil criminals out to do us harm' gang.

Yes, which is the truth, if you can't understand it, it doesn't matter.

Only that you say yourself that carrying a gun is no different to a baby sucking a thumb to feel safe.

Yup!, I sleep well at night with it. And proud of it.

For me? No, for you. You're the one who made the claim about 'most countries in the world'. But that little backtrack doesn't change the fact that you have provided no evidence at all that people in 'most of Europe' carry knives for self-protection. All we have is the links to reports of yobbos carrying knives to hurt people, and your own anecdote that you and your friends carried knives in Germany - was that really for protection, or another thumb-sucking exercise?

Of course, it was fixed just for you. Look, again, you believe what you will. If you feel that what I'm saying is bogus, then fine. You have that right. You can believe in green aliens, it's none of my business, but after growing up between Europe and in the states, I can only talk about my experiences as a formal Journalist living between the two continents. For me America over all is safer. You didn't live my life and as a person that is biracial, it was hard and there was a lot of bullying going around as well as people being attacked because of their race or religion. So instead of possibly becoming a statistic, I chose to pack heat, simple as that. If you can't or don't want to understand that, then you just don't.

Yes, which is the truth

So you're telling me America is 'a nation full of bandits, cowboys and outlaws'? But at the same time it's a myth that America is a murderous country? Then you tell me to believe what you will? for some reason?

I sleep well at night with it. And proud of it.

Proud of sucking a virtual thumb? .......whatever.....

So you're telling me America is 'a nation full of bandits, cowboys and outlaws'?

No, I meant you probably are thinking of the crazy stereotype notion that America is "a nation of bandits, cowboys and outlaws."

But at the same time it's a myth that America is a murderous country?

Absolutely.

Then you tell me to believe what you will? for some reason?

No. You can believe what you want. I'm was just telling you how my life was like growing up in Europe and later in the states. but hey, Some people still believe that Elvis is alive.

Proud of sucking a virtual thumb? .......whatever.....

Not proud of anything, just stating the facts, that's all.

It stands to reason that if you walk alone, especially at night (and sadly especially if you're a woman), you have to take care. Doesn't matter where you are. But I DEFINITELY feel safer here walking alone, especially in the city. In fact, I think people are afraid of ME.

I'm a bit chagrined to read comments from Canucks that safety in Canada had deteriorated. That certainly wasn't my impression, but I haven't been there for over 10 years.

dcog9065May. 09, 2013 - 10:59AM JST @JoeBigs: I live right next to Roppongi and it's fine for me. Everyone I know who lives around there is quite sophisticated so the problem is non-Roppongi residents and foreigners chasing easy Japanese girls.

That isn't the problem, the problem that at night Roppongi turns into a cesspool of drugs, violence and hustling.

Roppongi doesn't look anything like Tokyo when the night sets in, the place needs an enema and it needs it soon before it's brand of filth spills over into the rest of Tokyo.

Then why do you feel the need to carry a weapon?

piece of mind. I also do martial arts. So I guess, it would fall under the same purpose. Whether I use my body to ward off an attack or if I use a weapon, either way, I want peace, but if you try to hurt me or my family. I will use ANY necessary force to neutralize that threat.

@B4F - this is the bit that I don't get. Weapons, in general, are used to gain advantage over opponents, that is obvious. Whereas you may feel safer holding a gun, do you think that any criminal intent on harming you or your family is going to a) announce his intent of harming you to give you time to prepare your gun, or b) challenge you to a duel at 20 paces? I think the possession of the weapon is just psychological. On the other side of the coin, what if you perceived a threat, shot someone dead, but were wrong? Apologise to the corpse? Offer to fund the schooling of his/her three kids?

Yet there are women only train cars here in Japan?

Because of opportunist perverts who use the situation of being crushed in a train to satisfy some sexual desire. Unlikely (but I accept that not completely impossible) that they would become attackers late at night as they are basically cowards.

I feel safer in Toronto. Not for fear of getting stabbed or mugged or anything. I wasn't afraid in Japan and I'm not afraid here. HOWEVER, I answered my country, simply because we have street lights and sidewalks. I never felt safe walking the curb in Japan where drunk drivers and a nation of visually challenged hit-and-run drivers pass within inches going as fast as they can. Freaked the eff out of me, but not here. No worries.

I feel safer walking here at night than in my own country, although i try to always be aware of my surroundings, here the chance of getting bumped in or run over by texting people is higher than being mugged