Toddlers do not do this in Japan. People deeply misunderstand this show.

It's carefully monitored and setup. The kids don't know it. They are genuinely doing the things on their own. But it's not like the parents then rely on the kids to go do those things independently after the show.

They are more independent at a young age. But you don't see toddlers walking around Japan unattended to shops.

The article says this much too. While I never saw any actual toddlers running errands on their own in Japan, I did see children 5-6 years old doing it.

To be fair, when I send my 4 year old to the closest shop, my concerns have absolutely nothing to do with the safety of the environment (e.g. actions of others), and everything with how much I trust him not to be an idiot.

If we had a shop only two streets over it would be doable at that age.

Is traffic an issue at that age?

He has a tendency to get excited and jump onto the street without checking if any cars are coming.

It's well worth a watch to see how small kids act when they think they're not being observed. And also for the hilarious footage of how oblivious they (mostly) are of the swarms of camera people running in front of and after them...

In the US we have Avengers protecting us and/or endangering us.

You shouldn't get your "news" from entertainment TV shows.