I do the same in Japan. Most residential streets don’t have sidewalks so we share them with cars, pedestrians and bicycles. Some of the bigger streets have quite wide sidewalks (one car lane’s width or more) so I would use those.

But in this photo, the sidewalks are minuscule. I especially understand the dog walker choosing the road instead.

I’m happy that my town has started to widen sidewalks and reduce the width of roads to promote more foot traffic in the downtown area.