I just spent two weeks in Tokyo, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, and Izu, Shizuoka Prefecture. Loved the onsen in Shimoda! I was shocked to discover that Japan still does not provide soap in the toilets!

I have been to Japan many, many times and am always so amazed by how clean and unlittered it is. But no soap in the bathrooms is like being in a third-world country — not the world's third-largest economy. With the Olympics in 2020, Japan needs to enter the 21st century. Science has proven that water does not get rid of germs — hands must be washed with soap.

MARSHA THRALL

WALNUT CREEK, CALIFORNIA

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.