I've been to Japan two times in the last year and I was shocked at this too. It's interesting that years back there was a man with mental health issues who car

I've been to Japan two times in the last year and I was shocked at this too. It's interesting that years back there was a man with mental health issues who carried out attacks by putting chemicals in garbage cans in public places. After this Japan got rid of garbage cans in public. Most of them, at least. You walk downtown Tokyo and there are no garbage cans and no garbage anywhere. Every once in a while you come across a small convenience store with a very small can inside or every 10 or so vending machines will have a small bin for bottles or cans. But for the most part Japan is EXTREMELY clean. The city can be old, but it's all still clean. Go to Shibuya, the famous crossing with thousands of people. Show up there in the morning before rush hour and you'll see very few people, and the streets are all clean. No garbage anywhere.