Private Ash Tray (2004-06-28)
Something that is significantly lacking on Tokyo streets are garbage bins. Yet you don't see much garbage in public, many times none at all even on long stretches of busy streets. Tokyo doesn't impose a hefty fine on littering like some other countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong and there is not an army of street cleaners patrolling the streets and ready to pick up any jot of trash the second it is dropped. Japanese people are simply self-disciplined enough to hold on to their trash till they find a bin to dispose of it. Unless of course when it is a cigarette butt.
You can always find cigarette butts on the streets no matter where you are, in the suburb or in the city. Many smokers treat the streets like they are their private ash trays. If the majority of the population will not toss a gum wrapper on the streets, why do so many smokers chuck cigarette butts on the ground without a second thought? Are cigarette butts not classified as trash to them? These stubs will eventually end up in the drains and gutters to pollute the waterway (because there is not an army of street cleaners patrolling the streets to pick them up before they cause trouble). Tokyo doesn't need garbage bins on the streets, but it certainly needs giant ash trays on every corner.
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