Especially in places where a lot of people gather, rubbish becomes a problem…

In Japan it is rare to find rubbish being left on the edge of the road. Said that, to tell the truth… As far as recycling and the organizations that deal with it are concerned, Japan has still a long way to go. The norm in Japan is to take home one’s rubbish as bins can barely be found in the city. In some shops, in convenience stores and at the side of vending machines there is always some sort of rubbish bin, but you cannot fill those with rubbish other than the one produced in locus. That’s the norm, but of course there are always people who do not respect it. Some people, whilst they do worry about the public gaze, through away stuff nonchalantly. Don’t be put off by the fact that some Japanese will not respect common manners and don’t forget the rubbish! It’s no news that we shouldn’t throw rubbish carelessly. It’s an old habit. Another reason for the number of rubbish bins being extremely reduced is to avoid that anything suspicious is thrown in there. Having few bins is therefore one form of prevention from terror attacks.

But, please don’t throw away your rubbish carelessly.

The best that you can do is gathering the rubbish you produce outside in a bag and taking it back to your lodging. Alternatively, ask in the shop you visited whether it is possible to throw it there：Sumimasen, gomi okke? Do not forget to express your gratitude (even with a bow!）when receiving a positive response.

About charging for plastic shopping bags
Although we know it’s a little late to introduce this topic… From the perspective of environmental protection and resource constraints, plastic bags have been charged since July 1, 2020 in Japan. It’s been over a year since this charging was implemented. In Japan, plastic bags were generally free of charge, except in some supermarkets or some stores. In our daily lives, we thought that this free plastic bag service was quite normal, and this change caused a lot of problems for a while. Each time we went shopping, we had to tell the clerk if wanting to buy a plastic bag or not, and we didn’t have the custom of carrying an eco-bag with us. Well… to be honest, a lot of people thought it was very inconvenient, we think. Those plastic bags are so useful for so many things, you know? It’s very convenient for collecting small trash. “I” used to use them with that way quite often ～\(￣▽￣)\ With the charging of plastic bags, “I” have felt the convenience of plastic bags once again.

Well, there were some controversies, but we think we’re finally getting used to this change these days. It was in the midst of the new Corona disaster that this plastic shopping bag charge was legislated. Therefore, at that time, the number of people going out was very small. Ironically, because of that, the amount of trash littering the streets has really decreased. However, as the number of people going out increases, so does the amount of such trash… orz Needless to say, we hope that the new corona epidemic will subside and normalcy will return as soon as possible. But at the same time, we don’t want to see bad habits like littering on the streets return to normal, do we? So, if possible, we would like things to return to better normal lives than they have been.

That’s why, Everyone? In addition to the eco-bag, please also carry a bag to carry home a little trash. For the new normal life, how about that?