Visitors to Japan most frustrated with lack of trash bins: survey

The lack of bins is a rather annoying for residents too.

You can't say tourists are uncivilized when you are the one making them carry their garbage around.

I usually end up looking like a trashbag man with several ビニール tied to my backpack’s daisy chains.

I find the penultimate paragraph's figures more interesting.... bloody Japanese don't speak English (in Japan) LOL and tourist: "bloody tourists!" also LOL

Convenience stores readily load up their products with plastic bags, spoons, chopsticks etc yet don’t sponsor trash bins in cities.

They are one of the main generators of garbage in the large cities in Japan but don’t take responsibility.

trash cans installed and maintained by the public sector have vanished in Tokyo, there are trash cans set up and maintained by the private sector, 

It's not about safety it's all about local JGovt expenditure, so it's all about money.

“many were removed in recent years partly due to safety concerns after terror attacks in the country, such as the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack”

… recent?

JGovt both local and central got lot of money from foreigners increase that visit Japan from Airport tax to lodging tax, the least thing they can provide is trash can but even that is not being done.

People just leave trash in the public restrooms where the sign says to not leave trash there.

Japan is cheap and kecchi. Spend money on tourists? No way.

Why can’t tourists carry their trash with them like everyone?

With an increase in tourist numbers, trash bins are needed in big cities, Tokyo and Osaka, and also Kyoto.

Tourists are coming from countries with trash bins.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

but many were removed in recent years partly due to safety concerns after terror attacks in the country, such as the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack, and abroad, including the 2004 Madrid train bombings, according to experts.

According to an article in the Yomiuri, poor manners and the COVID pandemic were significant factors.

Excerpt below.

—

After the 2004 Madrid train bombings terrorist attack, most Japanese railroad companies removed trash cans from stations as a safety measure. Many later reinstalled them due to requests from passengers, but some did not and continue to have none at stations.

The companies that had returned trash cans began to be bothered by bad manners, such as the disposing of garbage without sorting it as specified, which has become more common amid recent strict requirements for the sorting of household and other waste.

Some people threw out household garbage at stations, including food scraps and trash that is difficult to dispose of at home. There was even a case in which a hypodermic needle was found.

“It became a safety issue for cleaning contractors, too” said a Tobu Railway Co. official.

Against this backdrop, the coronavirus pandemic broke out, and seven railway companies began eliminating station trash cans from 2020 onward.

JR East still has garbage cans at stations because it has huge terminals such as Tokyo Station, where a variety of items, including boxed lunches and souvenirs, are sold to many long-distance travelers.

The company has removed some trash bins mainly on conventional-line platforms, but is keeping them on platforms where Shinkansen bullet trains and limited express trains stop because many passengers throw out trash such as bento boxes there.

“Many stores operate at stations, so we don’t plan to remove all trash cans,” said an official at the JR East Metropolitan Area Headquarters.

However, JR East also suffers from passengers’ bad manners. Late last year, the company began a pilot program at Tokyo Station and two other stations to call the trash cans “recycling stations” and ask customers to sort their trash into five different types, up from three.

“By promoting recycling, we hope to raise customers’ awareness about waste,” said a JR East official.

—

https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/society/general-news/20230206-89277/

> Hello Kitty 321Today 07:14 am JST

Why can’t tourists carry their trash with them like everyone?

Tourists don't have a home to go back to, to throw the trash out or plan around?

Convenience stores used to have trash bins too, and nearly all disappeared from the outside of the stores as well.

Disposing of trash costs these places a heck of a lot of money, as it does for the municipalities as well, as people often bring their trash from home and throw it away.

As noted, it's about money, more than an entire country worrying about an event that happened 30 years ago.

People gonna go.back.home and tell their friends,Japan is trashy place,Take out the paper and the trash,Yaky Yaky do.not come back

While I can understand the security risk of having trash bins in heavily populated stations and areas, people leaving PET bottles or trash bags in random places because there are no bins doesn't exactly bring peace of mind either.

The photo above is more about trash bins not being serviced frequently, than it is about their scarcity around the city which is a whole different problem.

Trash doesn't magically disappear. Tourists are supposed to carry it around all day and dump it at their hotel. Why should the hotels have to shoulder the costs? Why not the companies that sell the trash, mostly convenis.

@Hello Kitty 321

Why can’t tourists carry their trash with them like everyone?

Because tourist being taxed in many ways while Japan, airport tax, lodging tax etc.

Also because tourist in Japan want to have good time not deal with daily trash.

The question why Japan can't be just like other touristic places where they have trash bin.

At least Kyoto already bring back trash bin.

https://japantoday.com/category/national/kyoto-merchants-want-city-to-install-more-trash-cans-to-fight-litter-in-historic-neighborhood

Tourists don't have a home to go back to, to throw the trash out or plan around?

Is it not OK to leave your trash in your hotel room?

Also, if I buy a bento at, say, a 7-11, I might ask another 7-11 on down the road if I can drop the trash in their bin. I keep the receipt just in case, but no one ever asks. If you are worried, you can buy a couple squares of those tiny Tirol chocolates and then suddenly you become a customer.

In 2024, the average spending per international visitor to Japan was 227,000 yen. This resulted in a total tourism spending of 8.1 trillion yen, a record high. 10% is the consumption tax.

Trash doesn't magically disappear. Tourists are supposed to carry it around all day and dump it at their hotel. Why should the hotels have to shoulder the costs?

Because the hotels charge customers for services and trash removal is included!

Why not the companies that sell the trash,

Well geez, let's expand the thought process here, how about charging the people who purchase the "garbage" for removal too!

In 2024, the average spending per international visitor to Japan was 227,000 yen. This resulted in a total tourism spending of 8.1 trillion yen, a record high. 10% is the consumption tax.

And just what does your google skills crystal ball tell you about how much this goes towards garbage disposal?

FYI 8% is also the consumption tax as well, and there is a "tax free" system in place that tourists get a refund of the consumption tax money, so this is actually meaningless.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

that's what the vast majority do. That's not the point. The survey is about things tourists find "annoying." which as a resident I find annoying too.

Why can’t tourists carry their trash with them like everyone?

Because systematic garbage collection is way more convenient, efficient and hygienic.

While trash cans installed and maintained by the public sector have vanished in Tokyo, there are trash cans set up and maintained by the private sector, Takemura said.

His company must have one or two concept trashcans installed, probably in Shibuya, which I avoid for obvious reasons. Otherwise, there isn't a single trashcan in the entire city.

Even railway companies have done away with them. One used to be able to put your trash into a rubbish bin that was placed just before the exit wicket. Those started disappearing a few years ago and are all but gone now.

Only shinkansens have bins these days. The very infrastructure a terrorist might well target. So stop the nonsense about measures against terrorism and be honest for once Japan. It's all about cost cutting.

Every other G7 country has bins. It's basic prep for a tourist economy. Buy one less F35 and kit out all the tourist areas with bins.

Dear foreign tourist...

This is Japan, a country of order and civility..

There's no need for trash cans on streets because Japanese people are clean and RESPONSIBLE for their own trash..

Do the same and be responsible for your own trash..

Japan won't accommodate you, you have to accommodate to the country rules if you want to visit..

Stop whining and act like a good responsible adult tourist..

Adjust to the country's rules and don't litter..

No english, this is JAPAN, and japan language is the JAPANESE..

Use digital translators..

Thank you for coming, be civilized and respect country rules and enjoy Japan..

If you generate that much trash, you are the problem.

Fraud by shoppers reselling tax-free goods prompts reform from November 2026

Cinsumption tax refunds will be given at airports, not the stores

https://www.vatcalc.com/japan/japan-to-reform-consumption-tax-reforms-2025/#:~:text=2025%20tax%20refunds%20at%20airport%20instead%20of%20store%20deduction&text=Pay%20Full%20Price%20at%20Stores,all%20receipts%20for%20eligible%20purchases.

Why can’t tourists carry their trash with them like everyone?

Because the very act of being a tourist involves lots of the buying of products and opening up packages on the road. Unlike you when you're just moving between your office and work/school each day.

At least you can chuck your rubbish into a bin at the office or at home. Tourists have to load up the hotel bins at the end of each long day. Not a good look for the tourist industry.

Japan used trash bins until 1995, the year they were mostly removed.

It is simplified polite.

For the tourist valued visitors,

Be respectful.

Take you "rubbish" to a correct receptacle.

If in any doubt, deposit at your hotel.

I. pick up trash if it something that interest me,then throw it back down, because it not my trash ,I do not throw trash into the street,I put it in my pocket until.i get home

Tourists do not want to carry trash around all day. Most leave their hotels in the morning and return in the evening.

People gonna go.back.home and tell their friends,Japan is trashy place

Don't think there is any danger of that as J cities are cleaner than most even now, but yeah it is annoying to not have any bins around.

Japan used trash bins until 1995, the year they were mostly removed.

Would really be helpful for people to actually read the article prior to making comments.

Japan used to have more trash bins in public spaces, but many were removed in recent years partly due to safety concerns after terror attacks in the country, such as the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack, and abroad, including the 2004 Madrid train bombings, according to experts.

TokyoLivingToday  08:17 am JST

Dear foreign tourist...

This is Japan, a country of order and civility..

Blah, blah, blah. Doesn’t it get tiresome, always touting the same old lines all the time?

There's no need for trash cans on streets because Japanese people are clean and RESPONSIBLE for their own trash..

So, Japanese don’t want trash cans either? The ones I know certainly don’t agree with that.

Do the same and be responsible for your own trash..

Saying you’d like to see more trash cans doesn’t equate to littering.

Japan won't accommodate you, you have to accommodate to the country rules if you want to visit..

Stop whining and act like a good responsible adult tourist..

Who’s whining? Did you miss the part where people were answering a survey?

Adjust to the country's rules and don't litter..

See above.

No english, this is JAPAN, and japan language is the JAPANESE..

Use digital translators..

Thankfully most Japanese I encountered in my early days were not nearly as hostile as you and would try to help me out when my Japanese was nearly nonexistent, with none of them demanding I speak Japanese if English accidentally came out due to frustration with my language skills.

Thank you for coming, be civilized and respect country rules and enjoy Japan..

Maybe don’t imply that others aren’t civilized if they don’t follow every rule. It’s often a simple matter of not knowing them. No one but a self-righteous nationalist would expect a tourist to know all the rules or be able to communicate in a language spoken in one country. The civilized thing would be to be glad that people have an interest in your country and show a little more empathy.

Part of the taxes collected from tourism by the central and local governments should be used for trash bins in major tourist locations. Kyoto tourists spend more than ¥1 trillion in the city.

Providing bins should be obligatory to everyone selling takeaway food, convenience stores included.

The occasional (probably mentally-ill) person bringing household rubbish to them should not be used as an excuse.

America is worse with deportations at this moment.

Anyway just don't do crime or stupid things and there is nothing to worry about.

Blah, blah, blah. Doesn’t it get tiresome, always touting the same old lines all the time? 

Well, there’s a saying about ignorance….

Saying you’d like to see more trash cans doesn’t equate to littering.

When I drove along the highways, I always see some trash and many areas in Fukuoka has trash, I even had someone put some trash in my backyard, most Japanese don’t litter, but some do.

Thankfully most Japanese I encountered in my early days were not nearly as hostile as you and would try to help me out when my Japanese was nearly nonexistent, with none of them demanding I speak Japanese if English accidentally came out due to frustration with my language skills. 

Very, very true. I remember when I first came here and I was sitting in a break room at the job I was working at when I first came, a nice woman watched me struggle with chopsticks, she stood up and came over to my table and showed me how to properly hold my hand and to use them, she was kind, gentle and motherly, there are many Japanese that will go out of their way to help you.

Maybe don’t imply that others aren’t civilized if they don’t follow every rule. It’s often a simple matter of not knowing them. No one but a self-righteous nationalist would expect a tourist to know all the rules or be able to communicate in a language spoken in one country. The civilized thing would be to be glad that people have an interest in your country and show a little more empathy.

Mic drop!

My biggest complaint as a tourist in Japan is the complete absence of public benches in Kamakura. There you find a lot of exhausted tourists on the Kamakura temple walks with nowhere to sit and rest, apart from entering some cafe. Another bugbear is tourist places like Kawagoe having its famous old quarter street being left open to regular road traffic on weekends instead of being turned into a mall.

TokyoLivingToday  08:17 am JST

Dear foreign tourist...

This is Japan, a country of order and civility..

There's no need for trash cans on streets because Japanese people are clean and RESPONSIBLE for their own trash..

Look at the photo for this article. Who do you think did that?

It's all about saving money: government policy has always been cutting this public service and using the money saved for other projects such as the military and feathering nests. Trash collection is not a thing for politicians.

Recently, Nara introduced trash bins because of the problem with its deer. Waste receptacles were initially removed from the park in 1985 to prevent the deer from accidentally eating out of them. An increase in tourism created more trash being dumped.

It’s amazing that a country of over 120million people have learnt to cope with it and keep the city clean until the hoards of complaining tourists and foreigners come. maybe instead of complaining, try learning how locals cope with it. Otherwise….please stay away.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do.

What, you mean just litter? I've seen plenty of local litterbugs. You can't blame everything on foreigners.

The bins pictured are only for plastic bottles. Walk 50 meters up the street to the combini...

Providing bins should be obligatory to everyone selling takeaway food, convenience stores included.

I suppose where one is matters. All the convenience stores down here, have trash bins, inside the store, that can be used for disposal of garbage generated on site.

In fact, even shopping center food courts have them as well.

What folks are complaining about is the lack of bins outside. Those are problematic because local residents often disposed of their "home" trash in these public containers, and even used them to throw out large appliances and other garbage that is costly to dispose of. People literally placed these items next to the bins, with the expectation that whomever was responsible for the cleanup would toss it as well.

There are numerous cases of people, in supermarkets, taking purchased items, out of the plastic packaging, repacking it in plastic bags, and tossing the styrofoam garbage, unwashed, in supermarket trash bins. Can't blame them really.

You can't blame everything on foreigners.

Just easier to point fingers instead of looking in a mirror! This has been a "local" issue for decades, just coming to the forefront again because of the influx of tourists.

Many Japanese make fly tipping to isolated locations to dump fridges, washing machines, and even cars. I saw that in isolated mountains in Nagano. Also, long river banks.

In our Hyogo location, such items, except cars, are collected every month for free of charge. When I walk along the river sides, there is always trash. Bento boxes. Drink cans. We do not have tourists.

Having lived here for about six and a half years, I'd forgotten this was a problem, but it took some adjusting when I first arrived. I think a few of the differences for tourists and residents are:

a) residents eat and (hopefully) have bins at home

b) residents are more aware of where they can and can't find bins

c) residents aren't carrying fully-loaded backpacks and suitcases, so often have more space to store rubbish

Most (not increasingly fewer) convenience shops I enter still have bins where I can throw away plastic bottles, receipts, tissue paper, or whatever. I also eat almost entirely at home or at restaurants, and carry a big camping bag, as I cycle a lot, so I don't generate much waste and can store what I do.

A lot of Japanese people I know also feel dense urban areas need more bins. As a side note, Japanese food companies need to cut down on packaging, especially plastic double-wrapping. It's insanely wasteful and almost always unnecessary.

I feel that, but it's still probably better than what people are worried about when it comes to visiting, say, the States. "I'm marginally concerned that air traffic control will go down just as we're about to land and that the nice ICE agent will have just been dumped by his girlfriend and is looking for someone to beat up".

Don't believe everything you read about "superior Japanese ethics."

When cities started charging for garbage disposal bags or stickers for garbage, a lot, and I mean a lot, millions of Japanese people started using public trashcans for disposing household waste. The trashcans had to be removed and virtually all mountain road roadside turn outs which were great places for taking a quick nap, were closed because of all of the household garbage and waste that was being dumped in the mountains.

So much america hate in here, when statistically the two largest groups of tourists are chinese and korean. One guess which nation has the most annoying tourists.

Perhaps tourists need to open their eyes. You buy food from convenience stores which have rubbish bins inside them. Even if you carry the food away with you go in to the same chain shop and drop the rubbish there. Train stations do not have rubbish cans but most trains do (not subways) so make use of these 2 things alone and carry a small amount of rubbish back to your hotel. There is also mention the lack of english speaking staff in restaurants in Japan, are you serious?!! You make the choice to come to a non english speaking country for a visit and then complain people don't speak english! Do restaurant staff in your own countries speak Japanese and other languages?

A lot of Japanese people I know also feel dense urban areas need more bins. ... Japanese food companies need to cut down on packaging, especially plastic double-wrapping. It's insanely wasteful and almost always unnecessary.

Both these points are very accurate and totally valid.

It is quite dumb that a vending machine doesn’t have a place next to it to dispose of the empty can/bottle.

Dear foreign tourist...

This is Japan, a country of order and civility..

There's no need for trash cans on streets because Japanese people are clean and RESPONSIBLE for their own trash..

Do the same and be responsible for your own trash..

Japan won't accommodate you, you have to accommodate to the country rules if you want to visit..

Stop whining and act like a good responsible adult tourist..

Adjust to the country's rules and don't litter..

No english, this is JAPAN, and japan language is the JAPANESE..

Use digital translators..

Thank you for coming, be civilized and respect country rules and enjoy Japan..

Dear Japan please awake and join us in the 21st century .

Learn from European countries how to accomodate and deal with tourist with efficient hotels and ecological dustbins.

Please realise that you are not part of a different planet but a body of planet earth,and like it or not in this timeline English is the tool language for humans to communicate as was Latin thousand of years ago.

You can't say tourists are uncivilized when you are the one making them carry their garbage around.

First World issues you don't say.

the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack

tired of hearing them using this as the reason. Yeah it happened. Once. 30 years ago. There are ways around this…..

Yohei Takemura, CEO of Forcetec Inc., which installs solar-powered trash bins that can compress trash in public spaces, said popular tourist destinations like New York and Paris each have about 30,000 public trash bins.

so…..it can be done.

besides isn’t there all this news about how Japan, tourism and the govt is making all kinds of record numbers and money from alL these tourists?

then how about using some of that money (instead of embezzling it) and providing trash cans through out the major problem areas. And actually hire people to take care of all of

this? Like how city and county workers usually do in other countries?

all those old guys standing around parking lots or directing traffic, let some of them do it.

On other inconveniences, 15.2 percent reported communication issues, such as the inability of staff at restaurants and other facilities to speak English.

this one is on the tourists, if you’re in the country learn the language. But some of the necessary places, like tourism assistance or immigration should have bilingual workers.

while 13.1 percent pointed to overcrowding in places such as tourist spots.

this one blame the govt and tourism industries for not promoting other areas of Japan, and definitely for making the rail passes ridiculously expensive.

Also not decentralizing Tokyo and Kansai areas.

@toolonggone

For the record, TokyoLiving isn’t Japanese. He is a native English speaking foreigner who writes about subjects in a way that tries to pretend he’s Japanese.

So there was the same complaint last year, but nothing was done? Plus, if the trash can issue came down as a percentage of the total compared with last year, did other complaints such as communication and overcrowding go up? The public needs to know!

Say what you will about the US, but the Trash cans are everywhere and emptied regularly.

@shogun36

Household garbage used to be be paid for by taxing residents. I was in Japan when cities started requiring citizens to but special trash bags or government stickers.

Cities and towns tried to save money by imposing fees in hopes that residents would dispose of their trash 2 towns down the valley that wasn't charging for special bags. Eventually, smaller towns had to also charge and require special bags because "everyone" in the city would leave their trash with Grandma Momoko in a town that wasn't charging.

That was when trash bins vanished and roadside turnouts were barricaded off. People were throwing household garbage in volume everywhere.

Tokyo GuyToday  10:34 am JST

I feel that, but it's still probably better than what people are worried about when it comes to visiting, say, the States. "I'm marginally concerned that air traffic control will go down just as we're about to land and that the nice ICE agent will have just been dumped by his girlfriend and is looking for someone to beat 

Great but the article isn’t about the US, is it? Try to stay on task and leave your hatred for the US out of it for once.