Some of these seem to be new installs since they're also making the mating ring that goes around it. That mating ring is embedded in concrete. Also, since they

Some of these seem to be new installs since they're also making the mating ring that goes around it. That mating ring is embedded in concrete. Also, since they seem to have the concept of painted manhole covers, I would imagine that they would replace slightly more often than we do to commemorate special events. Manhole cover theft is a problem too (as part of general scrap metal theft as the cost of iron and other metals has risen) but I would imagine it's less of a problem in a society like Japan. Edit: this link says this company makes 200 a day: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/street-art-japanese-manhole-covers/ https://www.cbsnews.com/news/street-art-japanese-manhole-cov...