There are laws in place for service workers related to minimum wage. The employers have to make up the difference if tips don’t meet the rate for hours worked. It seems to me that’s not sufficient for the times.
Hypothetically, if everyone were to stop tipping in the U.S. would things be better or worse for workers? Would employers start paying workers more?
It’s amazingly cheap to eat out in Japan compared to the US. I used to live in Japan and have visited since. Just a couple of years ago, even, right before the pandemic struck. It is a little more expensive in Japan now than it was then because they’re seeing inflation for the first time in practically forever, but it’s still very cheap compared to the US.
It’s one of the best things about visiting Japan. You can go nuts eating fantastic food at bargain prices. You can find expensive restaurants if you want to, of course.