Japan’s search for a better public trash bin — and why robots may help

Smart trash cans developed by SmaGO have been installed in Tokyo’s Omotesando shopping district, where they help address the shortage of public waste bins. | FORCETEC

Nov 10, 2026

On a drizzly Thursday morning on the Yanaka Ginza shopping street in Tokyo’s Taito Ward, Claudio Braghetta is doing a little window shopping. The Swiss traveler arrived in Japan a week ago and has already visited Nagoya, Sendai and Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture. He heads home Saturday. 

“I notice there aren’t many trash cans in Japan, in Switzerland there are public trash cans along the streets,” he says. “It’s great that in Japan, the cities are still clean even without them.”

Braghetta says he has been carrying a plastic bag with him while traveling  to collect his garbage, and uses convenience store bins to dispose of waste from items he has purchased there.

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