Why the Japanese Don't Litter
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Why the Japanese Don't Litter
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Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#2If you are actually wondering "Why the Japanese Don't Litter" let me save you the trouble of reading this article, which basically can be summed up as "Because they don't."
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#3Japan's very low number of public trash cans isn't just because of this "tradition and culture of courtesy and bringing trash home". It is also a direct result of a Sarin gas terrorism attack that hit the Tokyo subway system in 1995, whereupon some of the weaponry was deposited in a public trash can. Afterwards, the number of public trash cans was dramatically reduced.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarin_gas_attack_on_the_Tokyo_...
Source: Friend who grew up in Tokyo and was 10 years old when the attacks happened. He was using one of the attacked subway lines regularly.
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#4To me, "not littering" is different from "cleaning up for others". I need an article to explain why the Japanese clean up for others.
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#5Why do people clean their room and not throw trash on the floor? The same reason.
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#6Conversely, check out Yoyogi park on the Monday after a hanami weekend. The ground is covered in garbage, broken bottles, cans, etc. Or check out the square at Shinbashi station after the salarymen finish their impromptu outdoor happy hour. All flat surfaces are littered with convenience store wrappers, empty beer cans and cigarette butts.
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#7Conversely, check out Yoyogi park on the Monday after a hanami weekend. The ground is covered in garbage, broken bottles, cans, etc. Or check out the square at Shinbashi station after the salarymen finish their impromptu outdoor happy hour. All flat surfaces are littered with convenience store wrappers, empty beer cans and cigarette butts.
The culture of conformity is at work even during times of disobedience. ;)
edit: Kind of like "cut days!"
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#8To me, "not littering" is different from "cleaning up for others". I need an article to explain why the Japanese clean up for others.
Overall, it seems from my (possibly limited) view of Japanese culture that they tend to put a lot of emphasis on cohesion, respect of authority and laws, not deviating from what's good for the group as a whole.
Which has its downsides, surely, but in this case is a good thing.
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#9If you are actually wondering "Why the Japanese Don't Litter" let me save you the trouble of reading this article, which basically can be summed up as "Because they don't."
And that, right there, is an profound summary of why a strong, common culture is so important for a social unit: it's the only proven way to escape the prisoner's dilemma of society.
Re: Why the Japanese Don't Litter
#10America is actually quite tidy compared to much of the world I've visited, where the notion of binning rubbish is completely absent and children, animals, and adults are exposed to litter and refuse and pollution as a constant and inescapable fact of life.
Hard to take this seriously.