I work for a Japanese-owned corporation, and have interacted w Japanese counterparts and been to certain areas in Japan - my perception from a few specific interactions was that there is an actual cost associated with garbage, proportional to the size/quantity of waste being tossed.. once I got this thru my head so many other aspects of the culture (which already seemed sensible/thoughtful) started to make much more sense from an economic perspective.
When I started to evaluate the question "what if we tried to do this in the US?" I immediately came to the conclusion that people would just start littering like it was the mid-century again.

@kottke 10/10 can confirm lack of garbage cans in Japan. It was no big deal to adapt and carry a spare bag in my backpack to keep trash. It actually forces self-reflection about your trash habits and how you can reduce your footprint.

That being said, I never had a problem disposing of used plastic drink bottles at a family mart when I was buying new ones.

World Cup matches are famous for Japanese fans picking up every last speck of litter in their section of the stadium whenever Japan plays a match.

I used to spend a lot of time in Japan, and it inspired me to pick up other people’s trash off the ground in the U.S. This is mostly in big cities when I’m on foot and on my way somewhere. I don’t slow down. And truthfully, I only pick up a piece of trash if I see a trash can within a block. Still, it adds up to a lot of trash, so bravo, right? And yet no one says thank you, no one smiles. One hundred odd looks, yes. An occasional insult, yes. It makes no sense. I’m not a scary-looking person, doing something to make me look scarier. The results seem so dissociated from the action that it almost feels like finding a glitch in a video game. It feels like giving up scrolling media, achieving a re-balance of neurochemistry, and then being flabbergasted that everyone appears glued to their screens. Try it. And if you don’t try it, ask yourself what’s stopping you.