Japan is experiencing mass tourism at a scale it has never dealt with before. The government actively invites it, promotes it globally, and benefits hugely from it. But when friction appears, the response often seems to be blaming visitors rather than questioning whether existing systems are still fit for purpose.
Rubbish is a good example.
Japan is famously clean, yet public bins are rare. Visitors are told to take their trash home, a norm that works well for residents who know the rules and have a home nearby. Tourists are out all day, constantly moving, eating, drinking, and shopping. Expecting millions of short-term visitors to follow an unwritten rule without infrastructure feels unrealistic at this scale.
What makes this more interesting is that Japan used to have bins. They were removed years ago for safety and social reasons, at a time when tourism numbers were far lower. Since then, tourism has exploded, but the system has barely changed. Instead of adapting, the narrative often shifts to “foreigners are doing it wrong.”
This feels like a broader pattern. Japan is exceptional at maintaining established systems, but slow to innovate when conditions change dramatically. The blame game is easier than redesigning infrastructure.
I am genuinely curious what others think:
• If Japan invites mass tourism, should it also adapt systems to support it?
• Is it reasonable to expect visitors to follow invisible rules at this scale?
• At what point does responsibility shift from individual behavior to system design?
• Is slow innovation a deliberate choice, or an inability to move quickly?
This is not about lowering standards or excusing bad behavior. It is about whether a country can invite the world in, profit from it, and still rely on systems built for a very different era.
Interested to hear different perspectives.
by Gold_Ad_2457