More than 50% of respondents to a government survey said they feel public safety in Japan has worsened over the past 10 years, with many raising concerns about online fraud and cybercrimes, according to the results released in March.
While 85.1% of respondents said they felt Japan was a safe and peaceful place to live, 10.1% said they believed public security had "worsened" over the last decade and 44.5% believed it had "somewhat worsened," the Cabinet Office survey showed.
Asked in a multiple-answer question about places where respondents think they or those close to them could fall victim to crimes, "online spaces" topped the list at 53.9%, followed by "on the streets" at 50.7% and "downtown areas" at 47.9%.
In a different question on which crimes respondents especially want police to crack down on, 41.3% referred to cybercrimes such as unauthorized online access and phishing scams.
The mail survey conducted between December 2021 and January 2022 targeted those age 18 or older with Japanese nationality. It drew responses from 1,790 people.
Amid the spread of COVID-19 and increasing digitalization of services, 52.6% of respondents pointed to "fraud and business scams" in a multiple-choice question on the types of crime they were most wary of, followed by "cybercrimes including phishing scams and unauthorized online access" at 52.3%.
According to Gallup, Japan ranked eighth in a 2020 poll that surveyed people's sense of security and confidence in local law enforcement among 115 countries and regions.
The placement tied Japan with territories such as Canada, South Korea and Indonesia. Norway topped the ranking, while China and Taiwan came in second and fourth, respectively.