Japan, a nation that takes pride in its citizens' discipline and the cleanliness and efficiency of its cities, apparently has a dog poop problem. It had gotten so out of hand that officials in Izumisano, a prefecture in Central Osaka, are turning to smartphone owners for assistance.
An app called Machi Repo Izumisano Osecho was developed for the city. In the local dialect, Osecho means "please tell me" and it will allow people to snap photos of offending pooch turds littering their walk ways. The photos will then be sent to city officials, along with GPS coordinates of where the poop was found.
The app was launched on Aug. 30 and cost the city 3.9 million yen ($32,350) to develop along with an accompanying website which, according to reports, has some of the same features as the Osecho app.
But reporting the poop will not necessarily mean a speedy removal.
"We don't go collect it right away when there's a post," a city official explained.
However, enough reports coming from a particular area will enable authorities to better assign patrols to keep an eye on the area and fine offenders. These dog duty patrollers are known as the “uncollected poop G-men” and they have been cleaning up the city and enforcing the city's dog poop rules since 2012.
Ever since the G-men were deployed and yellow signs warning residents to clean up after their pooches' or face a fine of at least 10,000 yen ($83) were put up, the city reported that they now only have to collect doggie droppings from 200 to 300 locations a month – a steep drop from the initial one thousand locations a month.
With the introduction of the Osecho app, the city hopes to start encouraging dog owners and walkers to pick up the poop everywhere all the time.
In addition to poop policing the app can also be used to report broken roads and other repairs and issues that need to be addressed by the city.
