A large-scale survey conducted by the Japan Tourism Agency of more than 4,000 international travelers at the country's five major gateway airports (New Chitose, Narita, Haneda, Kansai, and Fukuoka) between December 2024 and January 2025 has revealed a prominent problem that is causing a lot of trouble for travelers: the severe scarcity of public trash cans.
Notably, 21.9% of respondents identified this as a top concern during their Japan trip. Although this percentage has slightly improved (about 8%) compared to the previous survey results, many travelers still expressed the inconvenience of having to carry their personal waste back to their accommodation due to not being able to find a suitable disposal site along the way.
The lack of trash cans in public places, especially at train stations, has become one of the biggest inconveniences for foreign visitors to Japan.
Experts say the current shortage of public trash cans is a result of a tightening security policy in recent years. After high-profile terrorist attacks such as the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway and the 2004 Madrid train bombing, many public trash cans were removed to reduce the risk of being used to store explosives.
The disappearance of most public trash cans has led to another worrying consequence: littering at tourist attractions is becoming increasingly serious, affecting the landscape and general hygiene.
A survey by the Japan Tourism Agency found that international tourists to Japan felt most inconvenienced by the lack of trash cans, followed by language barriers and overcrowding.
Compared to other popular global tourist destinations, Yohei Takemura, CEO of Forcetec, a company that installs high-tech trash cans, points out the stark difference. Cities like New York and Paris have around 30,000 public trash cans, making it easier for tourists to dispose of their waste in a civilized manner.
Although this rate was down about 8% from the previous year, many survey participants said they had to carry their rubbish back to their accommodation because they could not find a place to throw it.
In contrast, in Tokyo, while government-managed trash bins are almost absent, only a few are installed and maintained by private entities in certain areas.
However, when most public trash cans disappeared, littering at tourist attractions became a major social concern.
In addition to the lack of trash cans, the Japan Tourism Agency survey also noted other inconveniences that tourists encountered, including language barriers (15.2% of responses), overcrowding at tourist attractions (13.1%), and long waiting times at immigration at the airport (8.6%). These results show that while Japan is an attractive destination, there are still factors that need to be improved to further enhance the experience of international visitors.
