Landlords abroad....safe or unsafe?

How much local news from Germany, Japan, Costa Rica, etc. gets actual airtime on major US news networks? I've lived in the US most of my life and I've never seen it. Just because our news outlets don't report on local news from other countries doesn't mean that news doesn't exist.

The more time you spend outside of your home country, the more you realize that people are pretty much the same wherever you go. Some are amazing, some are totally shitty. Most are a mixed bag. Tenants are just people. Who you rent to makes a big difference when it comes to your level of safety. This is precisely why most landlords run credit checks and criminal background checks if they can. Checking into rental history and insufficient fund payments is another good thing to look into. If you encounter someone who's been evicted a couple of times, someone who frequently bounces checks, or someone who has a violent criminal record, just don't rent to them. Really simple.

"but is there anywhere that would be safe where people DO pay their rent without issues?"

There are all sorts of places where rent is paid on time without issues. In every one of those countries you mentioned there are reliable responsible tenants who regularly pay their rent on time but even those countries are not without problems.

Your question is like asking," Is there a place I can go and live that will not be attacked by terrorists?" No, there is no such place but there are plenty of places that are safer to live in and less likely to have problems than other places.

It would be nice if one could predict when the next wing nut was going to come out of the woodwork but unfortunately no one has that ability.

There are many places that I would choose to be a landlord and feel "safe" as a landlord. I would be safer for sure but not immune from potential issues whether they be lack of payment of rent issues or any other issues.

I have been a landlord for 16yrs never thought it was "unsafe" my rental properties are not in 'bad' areas and there are no 'ghettos' and all my tenants have always paid rent, on time, each and every time

Your narrow view on the world makes this difficult to answer. This is the first time I've heard of it being 'dangerous' to be a landlord. Any business has a risk of financial damages, but beyond that a landlord is very safe. Regardless of where you are, it depends on the type of clients you are marketing too. If you rent in low income areas your financial risks are usually larger. Also, to say any of those countries rarely have crimes is odd at best. Just because you don't hear of something in a different country doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

There are places where landlords rarely have issues - in Canada. I can't say about in the U.S. except that in the U.S., more people are self-centered, with feelings of self-entitlement and like they are above the law and they think they can do whatever they want without consequence, including not complying with the lease they signed, especially young people. Canadians tend to me more accountable who don't try and rip off a landlord nearly as often.

UK answer.
Many landlords rent via a letting agent.
These deal with the tennants and property issues.
Depending on the targeted tennant groups and the checks carried out a landlord gets more or less problems. In the UK it is possible to insure against none payment of rent.
It is unusual to get physical violence.

There are deadbeat tenants all over the world.