A coin locker vegetable vending machine

Anyone else seeing an increase of coin locker's repurposed as vending machines? I've been seeing these type of coin locker type dispensaries all over Saitama recently. Some of them for selling eggs, some for bento, but this one is selling vegetables. 

Prior to seeing them as vending machines, I had mainly see this type of locker being used in establishments that require you take your shoes off in the porch. You could use these lockers to store your shoes safely. You put a coin in the slot by the handle, usually 100 yen, and it releases a key that you take with you. Then you use the key on the way out to retrieve your shoes. Some of these lockers would give you your money back when you put the key back in, but many of them take the money as a charge. 

In the vegetable vending machine the key has been replaced by a red piece of plastic, you can see in the photo to the left of each handle. The slot for entering your money is above the plastic. As you can see in the photo, prices range from 100 yen to 200 yen. You can also see which lockers are empty and which still have produce. 

I wonder if this type of vegetable vending machine replaced the honesty store, due to dishonesty! The honesty system relied on people putting the correct money in a box by the vegetable stand. Not only did they have to rely on people putting the correct money in, they also have trust that people wouldn't take money out or run off with the box!

But Japan is still very "honest". There is a chance this type of system was adopted for another reason. For example, to keep the produce cool and fresh. But if I was a betting woman, I'd put my money on the system being adopted to keep the produce out of the hands, or rather claws, of animals! There is a lot of wildlife in Japan. I think produce being lost to hungry crows or wild animals is probably more of an issue than dishonest customers!