As social problems go, illegally parked bicycles probably rank relatively low, somewhere between sex service advertisements in phone booths and public urination. But the problem has become so intractable in certain areas that local administrations have resorted to ever more desperate moves in response to citizens' complaints.

Perhaps the most ill-advised was the attempt by Tokyo's Arakawa Ward to impose a tax. New bicycles that were sold within the ward would have a 1,000 yen tariff added on top of the retail price. The money collected would then be used for "processing" illegally parked bicycles throughout the ward, which presumably meant hauling them away and destroying them.

Not surprisingly, the tax never got passed. Apparently, it didn't occur to the functionaries who drafted the plan that the levy would automatically be considered punitive, effectively penalizing those who bought new bicycles even before they had a chance to break the law.