How a domestic terrorist attack forced Japan to remove dustbins
What's the story
Japan is seeing the slow reappearance of trash cans in places like parks and train stations, a sight that had largely disappeared since 1995.
The vanishing of these bins can be traced to the horrific sarin gas attacks of March 20, 1995, by cult group Aum Shinrikyo.
On that day, the doomsday cult carried out a series of coordinated chemical weapons attacks on the Tokyo subway system, killing 12 people.
Exposure to the poisonous substance also injured over 1,000 people.
Attack details
The 1995 Tokyo subway sarin gas attack
The cult members punctured bags of liquid sarin, allowing it to evaporate into a gas on Tokyo's subways.
They smuggled the poison in plastic bags hidden in newspapers and punctured them with sharpened tips of umbrellas.
The perpetrators then got off the train and exited the station.
The attack threw the city into chaos: passengers reported blurry vision, nausea, dizziness, and many collapsed while fleeing the trains.
This resulted in the immediate removal of public trash cans from across Japan.
Cultural shift
Impact on Japan's waste disposal culture
The elimination of public trash cans forced Japanese citizens to develop disciplined waste disposal habits.
Contrary to initial fears that littering would increase, there was no significant rise in littering.
Residents started taking their trash home to sort it according to Japan's complicated waste-disposal rules.
This cultural shift was further reinforced by strong community expectations and daily cleaning practices among schoolchildren, who participate in a daily 15-minute cleanup period at school.
Waste reduction
Strategies to promote low-waste lifestyles
Japanese authorities also adopted some interesting measures to promote low-waste lifestyles.
For example, when trash cans were taken out of public restrooms, so were paper towels to avoid possible littering issues.
Instead of disposable paper towels, small personal hand towels became the norm.
Cigarette smokers were encouraged to carry personal ashtrays instead of littering their butts on the street.
Tokyo has an anti-litter superhero, Mangetsu-man, who patrols the streets advocating cleanliness.
Return
Public trash cans are slowly making a comeback
But in recent years, trash cans have started reappearing in Japan.
Rail operator JR East began reintroducing trash containers on its Narita Express airport line in 2006.
Waste and recycling bins have also returned to train station platforms, public parks, and tourist attractions after successful pilot programs.
Cities are also turning to "smart" bins as tourist numbers — and the amount of garbage—surge.
Their return is largely attributed to a record-breaking tourism boom in cities, including Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka.
Fukushima
Fukushima shames people who break rubbish rules
In Fukushima, the city government, starting last March, goes through bags of rubbish that violate restrictions and, in certain cases, publicly identifies their owners.
If trash goes unsorted for a week, city personnel can look through it and try to identify offenders using materials like letters.
The violators will receive a verbal warning, followed by a written caution, before having their identities published on the official website.