Where are trash cans located in Japan?

According to a survey by the Japan Tourism Promotion Agency (JNTO) in early 2024, 22% of international visitors said that the lack of trash bins became the biggest inconvenience when coming to Japan, more than language barriers or overcrowding at attractions.

Hanako Montgomery, a reporter for CNN, said Japan does not have public trash bins for safety reasons. The government has removed many trash bins after terrorist attacks in Japan and around the world at subway stations.

In 1995, members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult carried out sarin gas attacks on Tokyo subway trains. Authorities are concerned that trash cans could be places to hide weapons, explosives, and dangerous materials. Since then, public trash bins in Japan are rarely seen.

Professor Chris McMorran, a Japanese studies expert at the National University of Singapore, said one of the questions he receives most from students is: ”Why is Japan clean but with few trash cans?”.

Professor McMorran explains that the rarity of public trash bins in Japan mainly stems from local culture. People consider maintaining public hygiene to be a ”personal responsibility”, not that of the city or the government. Therefore, they often bring trash home to throw away, instead of leaving it in public trash cans.

Japan also has a complex waste classification system. In some areas, waste is divided into up to 20 different types. This makes public trash bins more difficult to manage and less of a priority for placing in crowded places.

But with tourism booming, the country is struggling with the problem of waste left behind by residents. In many places in Japan, because there are no trash bins, tourists leave large amounts of trash on the streets. Therefore, in April, the government started leaving some public trash cans in the Shibuya area to serve tourists, and from June, people who litter will be fined. This is part of an effort to help Japan’s tourism industry develop sustainably, according to Hanako.