I really think the title should be ‘Safety in Japan’ than the former because in the 10+ years here I have never felt theft in Japan. Infact if you loose your stuff in the train, you are most likely to find it back if you to the ticket counter and say 忘れ物(Wasuremono). They have some English assistance and can help you find your bag. Generally, the lost property is stored in the last station of the the line you took. They will ask you general details about the time you got off the train, the size, color and the stuff inside the bag etc. so be prepared to answer these. Once, they are sure its yours they will give it to you. Around 5 of my friends have forgotten their iphones in the train and got back in 2 weeks, and in some cases very quick like 2 days!!
There is theft hard to be seen in Japan except the red light districts of Roppongi and Shinjuku if talking about Tokyo since they are full of muscular bossy sales people selling all sorts of stuff which are illegal elsewhere. Mostly they are foreigners or 外国人(gaikokujin) who are involved in these activities, but please be careful in these areas especially at night.
If you go to lesser known cities or even the 2nd biggest city of Osaka, things change and you need to be a little more careful than Tokyo but overall Japan is very safe for traveling.
But if you are still wondering and worried about safety in Japan, you should know about the following:
- 110 – Call 110 for any help as this is the number for calling the police. (Most places require Japanese assistance but sometimes you could be lucky to find an English speaking police officer)
- 119 – Call 119 for ambulance or any health related emergencies. (Medical terms and situations are sensitive so most likely the operator would either transfer you to an English speaking personnel or ask you to give phone to an acquaintance/stranger nearby who speaks Japanese).
- Embassy – I have heard that embassies in Japan are really helpful due to the great customer service culture of Japan as well as because of the remoteness of Japan. So, be sure to have the contact details of your embassy in Japan with you in your phone, so that if the above do not work out you can always call someone familiar.
- Apple AirTag – traveling or even roaming around as a resident can be troublesome if you loose your belongings. So, I recommend this product from apple to keep you connected with your stuff at all times. Apple AirTag helps you relocate your belongings by ringing when prompted when in vicinity or sharing the location to your phone when far away.
- For Residents – if you are living in a neighborhood where there are a few thefts reported or are just worried as you are still getting used to Japan, I would recommend you to have Google Nest Cam as your security backup. It can be installed indoors or outdoors as well and can be connected to Alexa as well.
Planning on your next trip and need a starting point, checkout this hidden gem of a beach within 2 hours by train from Tokyo station and costing less than 12 USD (1980 yens) one way with Ueno Tokyo line and change at Atami station with Izukyu-Shimoda line. I prefer Ueno-Tokyo line as it offers a green car (car 4 and 5) worth about 1000 yens extra but all the comfort of a passenger train for major part of the journey till Atami station.