The Japanese city with the largest number of foreigners will introduce a new rule due to disputes over garbage disposal

Starting in April 2024, Kawaguchi City in Saitama Prefecture, home to the largest number of foreigners in Japan, will introduce a new rule for owners of one-room apartment complexes. They will be required to post basic rules for garbage sorting and disposal in seven languages.

Since many tourists and foreigners do not understand the peculiarities of garbage management in Japan, the rules will be explained in Japanese, English, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Turkish, and Korean, Japan Today reports.

The move aims to help multinational residents avoid mistakes that could lead to conflicts with neighbors.

According to city authorities, as of January 1, 2024, 43,128 foreigners lived in Kawaguchi, which is 7% of the total population. They often had clashes with locals over garbage.

The rules of sorting are mostly unclear for people who do not speak Japanese well or have not been in the country for a long time.

The local government decided to improve information for foreign visitors after receiving complaints about unsorted or improperly disposed of garbage in areas with a large number of small apartments. In order to prevent problems, it was decided to distribute the rules in different languages.

The publication notes that Japanese are accustomed to the fact that different types of garbage are collected on certain days of the week, and in many areas, it needs to be washed, sorted, and prepared to certain standards.

As TravelWise previously reported, using public transportation in Japan can also be problematic for tourists. Read what you need to know here.