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I have been recently in a trip through Japan and I have been very impressed by the abundance and the quality of the public toilets. On the other hand, in Japan

I have been recently in a trip through Japan and I have been very impressed by the abundance and the quality of the public toilets. On the other hand, in Japan there are extremely few places with public trash cans. Those few that exist are typically associated with vending machines for beverages.

tmm84 2y ago
Here in Japan there are many public toilets (department stores, train stations, 7-11s, etc.). However, not all public toilets here are clean or anywhere I would advise people to use. A lot of train station toilets are just plain stinky (you'll pass out bad), I live off the beaten path so take that into perspective. On the other side of things, I have been out in the middle of no-where and the toilet at the only store in town was as clean as I have ever seen one. As for trash cans, many train stations I use have bins located near the entry/exit gate where you can put it in the correct slot (burnable, plastic, bottle, etc).
Narishma 2y ago
> On the other hand, in Japan there are extremely few places with public trash cans. Those few that exist are typically associated with vending machines for beverages. IIRC they removed them after a terrorist attack in the 90s.
- CamelCaseName 2y ago
  But... Why?
  - freeone3000 2y ago
    Because the bomb was placed in a trash can. It’s like having to remove your shoes to board an airplane in the US: firmly securing the exact door the horse has bolted through, and not paying any attention to other holes in the wall.
  - tkgally 2y ago
    The nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 [1] was quite traumatic for those of us living in Japan then. There was a very real fear of follow-up attacks. Security was tight for a long time in public places, and facilities like trash cans and lockers that could be used to plant bombs or poisons were removed. It took years for the tensions to ease, and it seems that even today the people in charge of public places hesitate to reinstate trash cans. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack
    - krackers 2y ago
      >people in charge of public places hesitate to reinstate trash cans. I'd assume that these days the lack of desire is mostly a matter of funding. Possibly also something about reducing the number of crows/rats digging through trash. Japan also has a rather strict trash sorting system, and not having public trash cans might serve as a forcing function to sort things properly (since if you get it wrong things will be attributed to you). Similarly it's possible that under some circumstances, under-serviced public trash cans could end up increasing the amount of litter on streets: people may be more likely to stuff things into an overflowing trash can (or dump stuff next to it) rather than carrying it with them.
      - b112 2y ago
        What a friend from Japan explained to me (Sam), was that in order to deter the crows and rats, Japanese authorities developed the perfect, slickest surface known to humanity. And it worked! Rats could not climb the sides of the cans, and crows would slip and fall when they landed. It was a good time for Japan, but unfortunately there was a horrible side effect. No one could get a hold of the cans, to empty them. Soon trash overflowed the cans, just as you said! Admitting defeat, the cans were eventually blown to pieces. This explains why Japan has trash on the streets, and why Japan had overflowing trash cans. But this is all fixed now. As you know, Japan has no litter, and no one would ever stoop so low as to liter on purpose.
  - iamflimflam1 2y ago
    Because it’s very easy to put a bomb in a trash can and maim a lot of people.
mitthrowaway2 2y ago
The ones next to vending machines are for recycling of beverage containers, not for general garbage.

tmm84 2y ago

Here in Japan there are many public toilets (department stores, train stations, 7-11s, etc.). However, not all public toilets here are clean or anywhere I would advise people to use. A lot of train station toilets are just plain stinky (you'll pass out bad), I live off the beaten path so take that into perspective. On the other side of things, I have been out in the middle of no-where and the toilet at the only store in town was as clean as I have ever seen one. As for trash cans, many train stations I use have bins located near the entry/exit gate where you can put it in the correct slot (burnable, plastic, bottle, etc).

Narishma 2y ago

> On the other hand, in Japan there are extremely few places with public trash cans. Those few that exist are typically associated with vending machines for beverages. IIRC they removed them after a terrorist attack in the 90s.

CamelCaseName 2y ago
But... Why?
- freeone3000 2y ago
  Because the bomb was placed in a trash can. It’s like having to remove your shoes to board an airplane in the US: firmly securing the exact door the horse has bolted through, and not paying any attention to other holes in the wall.
- tkgally 2y ago
  The nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway in 1995 [1] was quite traumatic for those of us living in Japan then. There was a very real fear of follow-up attacks. Security was tight for a long time in public places, and facilities like trash cans and lockers that could be used to plant bombs or poisons were removed. It took years for the tensions to ease, and it seems that even today the people in charge of public places hesitate to reinstate trash cans. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_subway_sarin_attack
  - krackers 2y ago
    >people in charge of public places hesitate to reinstate trash cans. I'd assume that these days the lack of desire is mostly a matter of funding. Possibly also something about reducing the number of crows/rats digging through trash. Japan also has a rather strict trash sorting system, and not having public trash cans might serve as a forcing function to sort things properly (since if you get it wrong things will be attributed to you). Similarly it's possible that under some circumstances, under-serviced public trash cans could end up increasing the amount of litter on streets: people may be more likely to stuff things into an overflowing trash can (or dump stuff next to it) rather than carrying it with them.
    - b112 2y ago
      What a friend from Japan explained to me (Sam), was that in order to deter the crows and rats, Japanese authorities developed the perfect, slickest surface known to humanity. And it worked! Rats could not climb the sides of the cans, and crows would slip and fall when they landed. It was a good time for Japan, but unfortunately there was a horrible side effect. No one could get a hold of the cans, to empty them. Soon trash overflowed the cans, just as you said! Admitting defeat, the cans were eventually blown to pieces. This explains why Japan has trash on the streets, and why Japan had overflowing trash cans. But this is all fixed now. As you know, Japan has no litter, and no one would ever stoop so low as to liter on purpose.
- iamflimflam1 2y ago
  Because it’s very easy to put a bomb in a trash can and maim a lot of people.

mitthrowaway2 2y ago

The ones next to vending machines are for recycling of beverage containers, not for general garbage.