Tourists to Tokyo, Kyoto, and other major Japanese cities often remark how clean everything looks. But long-term residents quickly notice something else: the serious absence of garbage cans. Where did the cans go? And how do Japanese cities manage to stay clean (relative to other locales) without them?
“Clean” Is Relative
First off, “clean” should be qualified as “relatively clean.” People who first hear this observation might imagine sparkling, shimmering citadels umblemished by so much as a chewing gum wrapper.
But Japan is just like anywhere else. And while less trash may end up on the streets than in other cities, that doesn’t mean Tokyo is trash-free. One common item you’ll find lying on the streets on rainy days: disposable umbrellas. The cheap, flimsy vinyl parasols sold by convenience stores often lose their first battle with Japan’s hellwinds. Some citizens, rather than carry them to a proper final resting place, just leave the soldier where it fell.
Another common item of late: masks. Twitter use Michey Peckitt, who runs the site Barrier Free Japan, noted how often he seems to spot discarded masks lying on the streets lately.
In general, however, most foreign residents agree that Japanese cities are, on average, cleaner than others. Which is curious, because the same residents also complain that it’s nearly impossible to find a trash can anywhere!
Where did the trash cans go? And how do Japanese cities stay clean in spite of their absence?
It’s Terrorism, Folks
In a series of articles on things foreigners found to be “mysteries” of Japan, Newsweek JP tackled the question of why the country’s cities seem to be so clean even when there are very few public garbage cans and ashtrays around the city.
Newsweek JP’s Takano Tomohiro says that the absence of trash cans goes back to the Sarin gas attacks perpretrated by the cult Aum Shinrikyo:
確かに、1995年の地下鉄サリン事件以降、テロ対策を名目に首都圏を中心に街中のゴミ箱は閉鎖・撤去されていったが、それ以降、コンビニエンスストアの店頭を除けば、現在もその数は大幅に減ったままだ。
In 1995, following the Sarin subway gas attack, garbage cans in primarily city centers were sealed or removed as an anti-terrorism measure. But since then, outside of convenience stores, the number has of cans has kept decreasing.
A Japanese commenter on Quora adds that this reduction continued after the 9/11 terrorist attack in America in 2001. The Japanese government made a concerted effort to remove public locations where an explosive device could be hidden.
“High Moral Level”
So why are Japanese streets so clean despite the War on Garbage Cans?
In his article, Takano repeats a common refrain often heard both in Japan and abroad: Japan’s “moral level” is so high that people naturally refrain from dumping garbage.
However, social conditioning by authorities also surely plays a huge part. Takano also notes that Japan gets high marks from foreigners for their “smoking manners” in public, with 64% of respondents rating Japan “better” than their own countries. He attributes this to aggressive advertising campaigns by tobacco manufacturers aimed at alerting people to the “dangers” of smoking while walking. Additionally, many local governments have fairly aggressive campaigns against littering, particularly the discarding of cigarette butts in public.
(In fairness, Takano also notes that foreigners also questioned Japan’s second hand smoking strategy – particularly the number of restaurants that allow smoking. This is something that Tokyo in particular has worked to curb ahead of the upcoming Olympics.)
There’s Littering…Then There’s Dumping
Anyone familiar with corruption in Japanese government or the treatment of rape victims is likely to look askance at the “high morals” argument. Yet it’s hard to deny that at least most average people in Japan seem to do a better than usual job of keeping their crap off of the streets.
But while small-scale littering may be less frequent in Japan, large-scale dumping is another issue entirely. In 2018, there were 155 incidents of illegal dumping, consisting of 157,000 tons of illegally discarded garbage. Most of it – around 78%, according to Wikipedia – is committed by construction companies. As if to drive that point home, just the other day, the CEO of a construction company in Chiba Prefecture was arrested for dumping some 13.7 cubic meters of old tatami and scrap wood on private land. The accused, Tanaka Makoto, admitted he committed the crime in order to “save money and increase profits.”
There’s also the issue of plastic waste. As we’ve discussed before, Japan is one of the world’s top exporters of plastic waste. Studies have found a concentration of microplastics in the waters around Japan higher than the global average. A study of 29 rivers in the country found that every one contained microplastics. The country has taken steps to curb this waste recently, such as charging for plastic bags and launching a large-scale study of microplastic pollution in Japan’s territorial waters.
So, yes, Japan is clean…in some ways. In other ways, like many other nations around the world, it has a lot of work left to do.
