If I can't discard my trash, have the terrorists already won?

[parasitegirl]

 My morning routine and my preshow routines are pretty hardwired in some respects. I don’t think of myself as an on-time person, but I know what time I need to be on what train and how to do it.

 

On my way to dance on Friday nights I usually pick up a black coffee at my local Tully’s before getting on the train. I no longer pick up a morning coffee because my last train to work departs as Tully’s opens. I rely on my presspot in the mornings. I don’t use my Tully’s tumbler on the way to dance, because I have no place to easily rinse and dry it when I finish.

 

Going to perform, I change trains at Omotesando. If I am early, I walk from Omotesando to the restaurant. Either way, I head to the trash cans at the information booth near the exit gates at Omotesando to discard my empty coffee cup.

 

I’ve memorized where trash cans are on my normal routes. This is because, for a country with a reputation for being fairly clean, trash cans have been disappearing. After 9/11 and as Japan joined the support troops in Afganistan, the fears of an attack on Japanese soil meant that the train stations stepped up security. This meant that the trashcans, feared to be a place where bombs or gas would be placed, disappeared. The AUM used the trains to spread sarin gas, but the trashcan fears stem from Red Army attempts and attacks in downtown Tokyo back in the day. I think trashcans were used to hide explosive devices then, but don’t quote me. This history means that the terror focus is on bins and trains. The security increase was also seen in bi-lingual signs urging us to report suspicious packages (these signs also turned up in Starbucks bathrooms, I guess due to the idea of American symbols of capitalism being another prime target, prompting me and another immature friend to refer to bowel movements as “dropping off suspicious packages” for a while), and…train security officers standing on large boxes and chairs to better survey the train station landscape.

 

The signs about suspicious people and packages are always in Japanese and English…the rest of the world are either assumed to read one of these languages or else they are assumed to be of no help in the war against terror.

 

Eventually the train stations brought in new trashcans, these with acrylic sides and clear plastic bags so that contents could easily be seen, but the number of waste bins was never the same. Security men stopped standing on boxes.

 

Two or three weeks ago, my Omotesando trashcans disappeared. I brought my trash to the restaurant.

 

Around that time, exiting the Kashiwa Tobu station, I was greeted by a large banner reading “Counter Terrorism” (in English and Japanese) with a…um..a Dolphin mascot of counter terrorism? I thought WTF? and took a cel phone picture. I have been meaning to upload it to my blog…along with the new terror threat signs about what to do with unknown items (I have made an icon from the Don’t Smell! Warning). I will upload these when I am at a location where I can access online photo storage.

 

This Saturday, on my way to dance lessons, I changed trains at Akusaka-mitsuke station and found that that trashcan was also gone. Leading up to this I’ve observed more station security officers (with special counter terrorism arm bands) some with large batons, many standing on large boxes. And Sunday I saw the newest sign, which explained the security measures: Due to the Hokkaido-based G8 meeting the whole country is on terror watch.

 

I will be carrying my trash more often.

 

Comments

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

It's almost comforting to know other countries are as anal about terrorism as the US..

[akibare.livejournal.com]

w00. I must see this counter-terrorist dolphin.

I tried taking a photo of the "please report suspicious packages" sign last time I was in a Japan Starbucks (I can report, the ones in Chicago don't have that!) but alas it turned out blurry.

"Deposit a suspicious package" is hilarious though :D I used to say "gotta catch a Toto concert" or related mentions of any Toto song, due to the ubiquitous terlet brand...

[parasitegirl.livejournal.com]

My first apartment shower set up was Toto.

I will try to get a picture of the Dolphin (he's not clear on my banner shot) but he might not be counter-terror specific, he could be the Chiba police mascot (just like that perky Tokyo police mascot!)

[kimuchi.livejournal.com]

The Chiba -> dolphin connection is only slightly less perplexing than the terrorism -> dolphin connection...

[parasitegirl.livejournal.com]

Still, the need to put any cartoon character next to the large red letters of COUNTER TERRORISM....