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Sam Atis's avatar

A brief comment on the trash can point: you’re technically right that there are no trash cans and that you have to wait until you reach a business or residence before you discard your trash. In reality, there are 7/11s, Lawsons, and Family Marts every two minutes in a major city, and basically everyone happily pops in and discards their trash - nobody is holding onto a coffee shop for an hour due to a lack of trash cans!

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Patrick Gourley's avatar

Definitely true. It's just great that the system works!

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noelmark's avatar

This didn't aged well, like all economic predictions.

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Whimsi's avatar

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I read somewhere that without Tokyo and Osaka, Japan's per-capita GDP resembles Romania's. Which would certainly match my experience living in the Japanese countryside for two years.

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Patrick Gourley's avatar

I'd be interested to see if A) that's true and B) how it compares with other countries. I have a feeling most nations would tumble down the board if the top two cities were removed.

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