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The Star
14-05-2025
- The Star
The main reason why there aren't many rubbish bins in Japan's public spaces
The most elusive 'item' in public spaces in Japan is the rubbish bin. — Pixabay Visitors to Japan have cited the lack of rubbish bins in public areas, including at train stations, as the biggest inconvenience during their trip, Kyodo news agency reported. This is based on a recent government survey. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the issue was cited by 21.9% of over 4,000 foreign visitors surveyed at five major airports in the country as their top concern. The survey was conducted on respondents before leaving New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Fukuoka airports between December and January. While the figure improved by about eight percentage points from the previous year, many of the respondents said that after failing to dispose of trash, they had to take it back to their accommodation. Japan used to have more rubbish bins in public spaces. However, 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, like the 2004 Madrid train bombings, according to experts. Unfortunately, with the disappearance of most rubbish bins in public areas, littering in tourist spots has become a major public concern. Yohei Takemura, chief executive officer of Forcetec, which installs solar-powered rubbish bins that can compress trash in public spaces, said popular tourist destinations like New York in the United States and Paris in France each have about 30,000 public rubbish bins. While rubbish cans installed and maintained by the public sector have vanished in Tokyo, there are rubbish bins set up and maintained by the private sector, Takemura said. On other inconveniences, 15.2% reported communication issues, such as the inability of staff at restaurants and other facilities to speak English, while 13.1% pointed to overcrowding, especially in tourist spots. Respondents also raised the issue of immigration procedures, complaining over the long waiting time at airports. – Bernama
The Mainichi
13-05-2025
- The Mainichi
Visitors to Japan most frustrated with lack of trash bins: survey
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Visitors to Japan have cited the lack of trash bins in public areas, including at train stations, as the biggest inconvenience during their trip, a recent government survey showed. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the issue was cited by 21.9 percent of over 4,000 foreign visitors surveyed at five major airports in the country as their top concern. The survey was conducted on respondents before leaving New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Fukuoka airports between December and January. While the figure improved by about 8 percentage points from the previous year, many of the respondents said that after failing to dispose of trash they had to take it back to their accommodation. 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. But with the disappearance of most trash bins in public areas, littering in tourist spots has become a major public concern. 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. 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. On other inconveniences, 15.2 percent reported communication issues, such as the inability of staff at restaurants and other facilities to speak English, while 13.1 percent pointed to overcrowding in places such as tourist spots.
Straits Times
06-05-2025
- Straits Times
Visitors to Japan most frustrated with lack of rubbish bins: Survey
With the disappearance of most rubbish bins in public areas, littering in tourist spots has become a major public concern. PHOTO: AFP Visitors to Japan most frustrated with lack of rubbish bins: Survey TOKYO - Visitors to Japan have cited the lack of rubbish bins in public areas, including at train stations, as the biggest inconvenience during their trip, a recent government survey showed. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the issue was cited by 21.9 per cent of over 4,000 foreign visitors surveyed at five major airports in the country as their top concern. The survey was conducted on respondents before leaving New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Fukuoka airports between December 2024 and January 2025. While the figure improved by about 8 percentage points from the previous year, many of the respondents said that they had to take their rubbish back to their accommodation after failing to find garbage bins. Japan used to have more rubbish 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. But with the disappearance of most rubbish bins in public areas, littering in tourist spots has become a major public concern. Mr Yohei Takemura, CEO of Forcetec Inc, which installs solar-powered rubbish bins that can compress trash in public spaces, said popular tourist destinations like New York and Paris each have about 30,000 public garbage bins. While rubbish cans installed and maintained by the public sector have vanished in Tokyo, there are trash cans set up and maintained by the private sector, Mr Takemura said. On other inconveniences, 15.2 per cent reported communication issues, such as the inability of staff at restaurants and other facilities to speak English, while 13.1 per cent pointed to overcrowding in places such as tourist spots. Respondents also raised the issue of immigration procedures, complaining over the long waiting time at airports. KYODO NEWS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Japan Today
05-05-2025
- Japan Today
Visitors to Japan most frustrated with lack of trash bins: survey
Visitors to Japan have cited the lack of trash bins in public areas, including at train stations, as the biggest inconvenience during their trip, a recent government survey showed. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the issue was cited by 21.9 percent of over 4,000 foreign visitors surveyed at five major airports in the country as their top concern. The survey was conducted on respondents before leaving New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Fukuoka airports between December and January. While the figure improved by about 8 percentage points from the previous year, many of the respondents said that after failing to dispose of trash they had to take it back to their accommodation. 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. But with the disappearance of most trash bins in public areas, littering in tourist spots has become a major public concern. 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. 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. On other inconveniences, 15.2 percent reported communication issues, such as the inability of staff at restaurants and other facilities to speak English, while 13.1 percent pointed to overcrowding in places such as tourist spots. Respondents also raised the issue of immigration procedures, complaining over the long waiting time at airports. © KYODO
Kyodo News
05-05-2025
- Kyodo News
Visitors to Japan most frustrated with lack of trash bins: survey
KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 12:56 | All, Japan, Travel/Tourism Visitors to Japan have cited the lack of trash bins in public areas, including at train stations, as the biggest inconvenience during their trip, a recent government survey showed. According to the Japan Tourism Agency, the issue was cited by 21.9 percent of over 4,000 foreign visitors surveyed at five major airports in the country as their top concern. The survey was conducted on respondents before leaving New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Kansai and Fukuoka airports between December and January. While the figure improved by about 8 percentage points from the previous year, many of the respondents said that after failing to dispose of trash they had to take it back to their accommodation. 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. But with the disappearance of most trash bins in public areas, littering in tourist spots has become a major public concern. 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. 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. On other inconveniences, 15.2 percent reported communication issues, such as the inability of staff at restaurants and other facilities to speak English, while 13.1 percent pointed to overcrowding in places such as tourist spots. Respondents also raised the issue of immigration procedures, complaining over the long waiting time at airports. Related coverage: Foreign visitors to Japan hit record for March of 3.5 mil. Japan train station officials railing at trespassing Evangelion fans 3 Japan airports to use unified gates for immigration, customs checks
