How Japan is so Clean
we know that Japan is very famous when it comes to cleanliness and personnel hygiene. Let's discuss how Japan makes its public places so clean.
Hard to find a garbage can
When you are in Japan, it can be quite challenging to find a garbage can out in the city. While you can easily find cans and bottle recycling near vending machines, finding a regular garbage can is a different story. However, you’ll notice that there is very little litter on the streets of Japan. This is because there used to be many more garbage cans available, but they were removed as a security measure following the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack by a cult. Since then, few of the removed garbage cans have returned to public spaces like sidewalks, washrooms, and parks.
As a result, people began bringing their garbage home with them instead of allowing it to flow through the streets. In Japan, your best bet to find a place to dispose of waste outside of your home is at convenience stores. There are over 50,000 of these stores across the country, and many of them have garbage disposal facilities. Additionally, there are train stations with waste disposal areas that often use clear bags so that you can easily see what’s inside.
Influence of the Education System
Despite the limited availability of garbage cans, the streets of Japan are relatively clean. This is because many people take their trash home, but there’s more to it than that.
It is safe to say that the Japanese education system emphasizes cleaning up after oneself. This is evident after school lunch when students put away their dishes. Certain students are assigned to ensure that everything is collected properly and taken to the kitchen. Moreover, after the classroom is quickly cleaned up with everyone pitching in, the students even have to clean their teeth. Though they might not be doing it most efficiently, it is okay since there isn’t much dirt to clean. There aren’t any janitors, so it’s up to the students to keep the classrooms, hallways, and bathrooms clean. Therefore, if a student makes a mess, they are not only creating more work for themselves but also for their classmates. This kind of self-responsibility for both keeping clean and cleaning up carries over into all aspects of life.
Social Responsibility
In Japan, it is common for people to take responsibility for cleaning not only their homes but also the public areas surrounding them. I once saw an elderly man cleaning the area around his home even though he was not asked to do so. He said that he saw the area was messy with leaves and he thought someone had to do it, so he did it himself. This act of kindness is not uncommon in Japan.
Although not everyone in Japan is a do-gooder, enough people take responsibility for cleaning that it adds up. I pick up any trash that finds its way around my house, and perhaps every month or so, I’ll give the area a sweep and a hose down with water. Just like how people clean around their homes, shopkeepers and staff also clean around where they work. Some local business associations even organize workers to clean the area.
Japan has workers who specialize in cleaning public spaces. For instance, some workers specialize in cleaning gum off the streets, though they’re rare to see outside of busy areas. However, you will see Silver Jinzai workers everywhere, cleaning up public places such as parks and walking paths. The Silver Jinzai are a group of senior citizens, hence the “Silver” in their name. They do all sorts of part-time work around the community, with local cleanups being a popular job. You’ll also see Silver Jinzai workers in the private sector, such as at senior care homes or in train stations.
I can see that manual tools are being used to clean the streets, but there is a guy who is using a floor-cleaning machine and it makes me happy to see that. If you have a home, you will most likely be a part of a neighborhood garbage group called “gomitoban”. It could be just your household or up to 20 households that are part of it, or your area may not have it at all. Generally, how it works is that each household takes turns making sure that the bins and bags are put out, waste separation is done correctly, garbage is covered with a net, and the area is clean after everything is picked up.
For group living like in apartments, public housing, and condos, the responsibility can vary. For some, an outside company will be hired to manage the cleanup and maintenance of the property, while for others, they might organize some of the cleaning themselves. Once the waste is dropped off at collection points, the city is responsible for picking up the majority of waste. I was impressed to see the spring in the steps of the waste management people.
Group cleaning is also done during planned events such as fireworks. In our area, hundreds of thousands of people visit to watch the local fireworks, and the waste is left in designated areas. Although some of it is packed up and taken home by the spectators, the majority is left in the designated areas. The next day, some people come and clean up, but not all of it is cleaned.
Historical Influence
Initially, I asked why Japan is so clean. One reason could be the influence of Shinto and Buddhism. For over 1,200 years, cleaning the jinja precincts has been a crucial part of the duties of Shinto priests and mikos. Sweeping the grounds is closely related to the idea of ritual purification, known as harae or misogyny. Physical cleanliness and tidiness are essential aspects of this ritual, which is why you purify yourself upon entering a shrine’s grounds. Japanese people also perform a form of ritual purification called misogi by taking a bath and cleaning their entire body.
Similarly, Buddhism also emphasizes the importance of cleanliness. Cleanliness is the most basic practice that all forms of Japanese Buddhism have in common. In Japanese Buddhism, it is said that cleaning is a powerful practice that must be done in the pursuit of spirituality.
Do you know how the Japanese keep their houses clean? They take off their shoes at the entrance, which is a ritual observed when working on the buses as well.
