Homicide rate in Japan
Japan: Homicide rate was 0.2292 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023. ▼ Falling
Homicide rate in Japan, 1990–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in homicides per 100,000 population.
Analysis
In 2023, homicide rate in Japan stood at 0.2292 homicides per 100,000 population.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 20.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, homicide rate in Japan peaked at 0.6124 homicides per 100,000 population in 1998 and was at its lowest, 0.2268 homicides per 100,000 population, in 2021.
Japan ranks 168th of 179 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.5626 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.5158 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.6124 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5033 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.3947 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.5477 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2968 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.2408 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.3628 homicides per 100,000 population | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.2347 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.2268 homicides per 100,000 population | 0.2518 homicides per 100,000 population | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 165 Hong Kong 0.3762 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 166 Indonesia 0.3038 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 167 Kuwait 0.25 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 169 Bahrain 0.1956 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 170 Oman 0.1386 homicides per 100,000 population compare
- 171 Qatar 0.0691 homicides per 100,000 population compare
More social development data for Japan
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asy 42,450 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of ori 56 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 1 (2025)
- Freedom of Association Index 0.924 (2025)
- Human Rights Index 0.925 (2025)
- Liberal Democracy Index 0.734 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 2 (2025)
- Participatory Democracy Index 0.526 (2025)
- Key features of human rights 0.925 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is homicide rate in Japan?
- Homicide rate in Japan was 0.2292 homicides per 100,000 population in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest homicide rate recorded in Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 0.6124 homicides per 100,000 population in 1998.
- What is the lowest homicide rate recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2268 homicides per 100,000 population in 2021.
- How does Japan rank for homicide rate?
- Japan ranks 168th out of 179 countries with data for 2023.
- Is homicide rate rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Japan data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024); United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Homicide rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Intentional homicide rate per 100,000 population.