It is the only Asian country to appear on the list, which was dominated by Europe with six representatives – Iceland, Ireland, Switzerland, Germany, Norway and Denmark, according to the annual report from North American-based travel insurance company Berkshire Hathaway Travel Protection.

Japan is the exception to the rule that only sparsely populated countries are safe. The country is in the top 50 for population density and has the world’s 12th-lowest homicide rate.

“More people speak English in Japan, so they can help you if you get lost or need help with navigating,” the report says.

To determine the list, the company used its own data, which it collected since 2016, surveying American travelers on their “attitudes toward travel safety.”

To team asked travelers where they’ve traveled in the last five years and to rate them on perceived safety. It then added to those ratings with other indices, including data from the Global Peace Index and Numbeo and an average of the GeoSure Global scores of the major cities in each country.

For 2025, Iceland came out on top.

Japan was named the world’s most favorite travel destination by readers of Condé Nast Traveler in the 2024 edition of the magazine’s annual Readers’ Choice Awards.

The country logged more than 36.8 million tourist arrivals in 2024, according to estimates from the Japan National Tourism Organization.