Japan guaranteed to clean up at the World Cup – here is why their fans leave stadiums spotless | OneFootball

The phenomenon of Japanese football fans meticulously cleaning stadiums after matches has become a global spectacle, a tradition that began at their first World Cup appearance in 1998 and continues to astonish observers worldwide.

This remarkable custom, first noted in France, was evident at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and is expected to persist when Japan competes in upcoming group games in Arlington, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico.

It stands in stark contrast to the scenes often found in other stadiums, where spectators might navigate discarded food, wrappers, and overflowing cups.

The commitment extends beyond the stands; at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Japanese players famously tidied their dressing room after a defeat, leaving a thank-you note in Russian. Similarly, in 2022, fans expressed gratitude on rubbish bags in Arabic, English, and Japanese.

The explanation for this behaviour is rooted in early socialisation. From elementary school, Japanese children are taught to maintain cleanliness in all environments, whether classrooms, playgrounds, or sports fields. Koichi Nakano, a professor of politics and history at Sophia University, explained to The Associated Press.

"Japanese sports fans at world events who clean up the stadium are behaving much the same way they did when they learned how to enjoy sports as school boys and girls,” he said.

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Japanese fans will clean up World Cup stadiums this summer (AP)

This ethos is encapsulated in the Japanese phrase "Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu," which literally translates to: "A bird leaves nothing behind." In essence, the message conveyed in English is: "Return it the way you found it."

Many Japanese elementary schools operate without janitors, entrusting cleaning duties to students. This practice extends into adulthood, with office workers often dedicating time to tidy their workspaces.

Furthermore, the scarcity of public waste bins in Japan means people typically take their rubbish home, contributing to cleaner streets, reducing waste collection costs, and deterring pests.

Nakano added: "The way most ordinary soccer fans experience soccer at school is no different from other sports, and the emphasis is not just on physical education but also on moral education as well."

Barbara Holthus, deputy director of the German Institute for Japanese Studies in Tokyo and a sociologist, cautions against idealising Japan, acknowledging that every nation faces its own challenges. However, she highlights the distinct socialisation process.

"An academically sound explanation is that people in Japan just happen to be socialized different," she told The AP. "If you grew up with a certain way of how things are being done, you apply that to even cleaning up a stadium afterwards."

Central to this behaviour is the Japanese concept of "meiwaku”, which discourages causing trouble or inconvenience to others. From this perspective, leaving a stadium strewn with rubbish would be considered bothersome.

Given Japan’s high population density, particularly in greater Tokyo with its 35 million inhabitants, co-existence necessitates consideration for others.

"Japanese learn early on that you don't want to inconvenience other people," Holthus said. She contrasted this collective focus with the Western emphasis on individual rights.

"You don’t want to bother people. It goes to all areas of life in Japan," Holthus added.

"We are raised (in the West) that we don’t have to clean up after ourselves in public spaces because there is going to be some kind of public service doing that."

The widespread media praise for these clean-up efforts has further reinforced the behaviour, transforming it into a source of national pride. Jeff Kingston, a history professor at Temple University in Japan, noted in an email: "Now that the media has latched onto the story and lavished praise on Japanese fans, they have made it a point of pride to display those values and norms."

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Japanese fans were seen cleaning up after their side beat England at Wembley last month (John Walton/PA Wire)

This tradition is not confined to the World Cup. Japanese fans demonstrated the same commitment at the Under-20 World Cup in Chile last year and, more recently, at Wembley Stadium in London after Japan’s 1-0 victory over England in an international friendly.

Toshi Yoshizawa, who led the clean-up in Chile, affirmed: "It’s one of our traditions. We grew up with the teaching that we should leave a place cleaner than when we arrived."

William Kelly, an emeritus professor of anthropology at Yale University and a Japan specialist, suggests this tradition is more pronounced in football than other sports.

He speculates it may be linked to the establishment of Japan’s professional football league, the J-League, over three decades ago.

"It (the J-League) was trying to distinguish itself from baseball by emphasizing teams’ community embeddedness and commitment," Kelly wrote in an email. "Soccer fans felt, and feel, more a part of the club and its stadium."