I am so glad to hear this about Japan. My family lived in a city on the southern island of Kyushu in the 1990s for 2.5 years

We were stunned by how dirty all the cities were and even our favourite swimming spots in the countryside were extremely dirty.

Every car/truck stop had a metre high pile of garbage ringing the edges. There were no public garbage receptacles and the ground was the accepted place to put all garbage. The public toilet seats were often covered in feces esp the traditional floor seats. When we drove through the beautiful mountains we would see what we thought were waterfalls only to find it was a trail down the side of the mountain of disposed fridges and stoves etc.

Most other foreigners we met said it was the hardest thing to reconcile in their minds. Their view of Japanese cleanliness and the public dirtiness. My students explained that Japanese deeply valued personal cleanliness but did not care about outward dirtiness. In the homes, one guest room was kept spotless but often the rest of the house was not clean.

We started picking up the garbage where the kids swam as it was dangerous but also littered with very violent pornography in children's comic books! People were very surprised that we bothered!

I do not know if Tokyo is different or if there has been a revolution since the mid nineties. If it is a change in thinking then that gives great hope that societies can change.

We loved our time there and found it to be a friendly and beautiful country but clean streets and toilets was not something we personally experienced!