(for those who cant take a hint, mike is a truck driver and is probably the best person to listen to for this.... and well anything really)
It's all relative on what you're used to. Believe me. I rode a bicycle... not a moped, not a motorcycle, a dirt bike through these "dangerous drivers" for years. There's a certain zen to the traffic in Tokyo. Agressive? Yes. Overly dangerous and scary? I stick by my previous claim. I ride on the sidewalk most of the time in Hawaii. Too many speeding morons... and nobody can forget those statistics. I was run off the road by a city bus driver just two weeks ago. The day I moved here a 60 year old man was struck by a car going 40-50mph and died instantly. He was in the bicycle lane mind you.

I can't speak for much of the countryside. Did very little cycling while living in anything that resembled the sticks.