[coolandsmartrr]

To add some context, the removal of trash cans accelerated prior to the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics. The municipal government was concerned about trash possibly overflowing from the can, thereby ruining the appearance of the streets.

Meanwhile, Japanese subway stations still have trash cans, which are only blocked when foreign dignitaries visit the country. It doesn't seem authorities are reacting to the subway attacks from 30 years ago.

[jeremyjh]

I would never do this as a visitor to another country - but if this happened where I lived I would advocate mass littering until it was repealed. Just drop the trash where the canvases to be. If you could get even a single percent population doing this in a large city it would snowball and it would be over in 30 days tops.

[fc417fc802]

I would happily do that ~anywhere. The social contract is that I carry my trash around with me on the basis that there will be a can somewhere nearby.

In a nearby municipality there is a particular spot that sees a lot of dog traffic yet has no can. Some civilly disobedient good samaritan keeps leaving an empty bucket and the city periodically gets around to removing it long after it fills up. Seems to work well enough despite being entirely illegal.

[bitmasher9]

The social contract changes when you change location. It’s unreasonable to be accepted as a guest in country and not expect to have to modify your behavior to accommodate local norms.

[fc417fc802]

I agree with you in principle but given this specific example I'm failing to come up with any counter examples. Community provided trash cans seem to go hand in hand with a cultural aversion to littering and both seem to be a direct consequence of population density rather than anything to do with a particular culture.

[KennyBlanken]

Meanwhile Boston spent millions on "bomb proof" trashcans that turned out to just be regular trashcans with an absurd mark-up.

Security Theater keeps on keepin' on.