TTokyo

Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area

  • December 12, 2025


Tokyo considering law requiring more trash cans following litter increase in heavily touristed area

by biwook

31 comments

  3. It’s Japan fault for not having them in the first place, you’re not different, be normal like every other country

  5. I remember in Nakano, they removed trash bins from a park. People were upset and still trashing out in the place of the old trash bin.
    Was clearly part of it. It’s always easy to buy drinks and stuff, but always so difficult to get rid of it after that

  7. One of my strongest memories from my last trip was stumbling across the Kabuchiko Benzaiten shrine. It had two little wire trash can which were both buried under a mountain of trash.

    I didn’t find it difficult to hold onto a bottle for an hour or two but the problem is pretty evident.

  8. You could put a trashcan every 3ft in some places in the US and you’d still have litter.

    Japan could use a few more trashcans though.

  10. If I run an industrial company that produces pollution and I just dump it into the local river instead of deal with it, we all agree I’m the bad guy. I’m a selfish, irresponsible jerk who is polluting our world just to save myself some money. But let’s suppose I don’t run an industrial company, but I run a crepe stand. And instead of dumping my pollution directly into the local river, I hand it off to the customer in the form of disposable trash that comes with the product. Now, I’m not *telling* my customers to dump their trash and pollute the environment, but I’m still doing nothing to deal with the pollution my business creates. And if my customers have no where to put the trash, is anyone surprised that it is going to end up in the local street?

    People love to blame the foreign tourists because the foreign tourists are highly visible and (*gasp*) *different*, but they’re just continuing the proud Japanese tradition of Shibuya being full of businesses that don’t take responsibility for their trash and the slobs who frequent them. I’m glad the city is finally asking the people who make a quick buck there to take some responsibility for their business. I hope the measure passes.

  12. Pretty much every single country in the world has decided that there is merit in placing ample trash cans in heavily touristed areas. Why is Japan so different?

    People are generally good, and almost all will use trashcans if they are available.
    The area around my house never sees any tourists, but there are areas that are covered in trash.

    People say that you should carry your trash around with you all day and throw it out when you get home, but try telling that to a drunk salaryman at 11pm who is not going to carry some chu-hi can around with him all night when he meets his co-workers. Instead he will just throw it in my bicycle’s basket and I will have to clean it up in the morning.

    (The fact that they go to the trouble to put in in my basket shows that if trash cans were available they would use them. I suggest a law that every place that sells drinks must accept bottles and cans, no questions asked.)

  14. Like a decade ago, when I went back to Japan and visited Tokyo first time in 8 years, for the love of god I couldn’t find any trash bin and I was so confused. My friend was so matter of fact about it too, like “yeah you just take your trash home.” Couldn’t tell if I was way too westernized or there was a change (to be fair I rarely visit Tokyo). It simply seems pretty impractical.

  15. I didn’t mind carrying my bottles etc for a short time but let’s be honest no one wants to have to wait an extended period of time to find a bin. The stores everyone talks about having bins shouldn’t have to deal with outside rubbish.

  17. All the public trash cans disappeared after the satin subway attacks in 1995. (some gas canisters were placed in garbage cans).

  20. So surprised – some trash cans would be helpful but also it’s not that hard to walk around with small trash. Most places you buy food can take your trash after you eat it.

  21. Can someone remember me what’s happened? 20 years ago there was lines of trash cans in front of every combini, then they disappeared. Parc had few trash cans (but not a lot to be honest). Today, the only place I know with a trash can is a fishing spot, I shit you not.

  22. They need to do the trash bins like in Sweden (I think its sweden. I saw it on a reel/toktok) where its a bin on the surface, but under the pavement its basically a massive dumpster. There’s no way an ordinary bin will be enough for their foot traffic.

    They need to reinvent public trash bins. Probably do some type of underground infrastructure that somehow sends trash directly to a facility for disposal. Idk how its going to work, but that’s for someone much smarter than myself to figure out.

  23. That sucks. This is one thing that made me think about how much garbage I would generate through the day and created new habits for me like not eating or drinking on the go but at the restaurant itself so I could throw my garbage there and then be on my way. I thought this limited trash can policy was genius for that. Once you put too many trash cans and it becomes the expectation, habits reverse and the moment that trash can is full (which will happen in no time in Tokyo) people will just litter around it.

  25. Hope they work on having a soap and drying mechanism in every restroom next! I love Japan so much and this is the only thing that screams developing country to me.

  26. Japanese young people trash around lol they just buy stuff at the combini and littering just outside of it

  27. I have no qualms with adding trash cans, but raised in Japan I never really noticed or cared that there were so few. What garbage does everyone have that they can’t throw out at a convenience store/train station or wherever they originally bought the item? Is it because foreign people don’t carry bags? Not in an accusatory way I just really don’t get what everyone is doing that I or many Japanese people are not.

  31. When I went to Japan. It wasn’t too difficult to discard of trash. Just stop by a local convenience store. They usually have a trash can right near the food prep area. And the convenience stores are literally located everywhere.

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