Japanese supporters, true to form, left their stands spotless on Sunday in Dallas after their World Cup selection opened against the Netherlands, explaining that cleaning up was part of the Japanese “culture”.
Dressed in the “Blue Samurais” jersey, the Japanese spectators stayed after the 2-2 draw to meticulously collect all the waste lying around in the stands and pile it into blue plastic trash bags.
“We were taught that when we use a place, we must leave it cleaner when we leave than it was when we arrived,” explains Eita Tanaka, a beer and a few cups in hand, dressed in the blue jersey of his team.
“For example, at school, we clean our classrooms ourselves without our teacher needing to tell us,” adds Tanaka, aged 20.
The cleanliness of the Japanese supporters, whose team is participating in its eighth World Cup, has become its international trademark.
– “Spiritual approach” –
“It’s our culture, wherever we go, we have to clean up after ourselves, it’s our spiritual approach, our attitude,” says Futo Hagiwara, proud of this collective behavior.
And he is emulated. New York Giants American football team quarterback Jameis Winston was seen joining Japanese fans after Sunday’s game, wearing a blue Japan jersey with his name written on the back.
Sociologist and philosopher Masachi Ohsawa believes that a combination of a sense of social responsibility and peer pressure drives fans’ behavior.
“The Japanese tend to have little interest in large-scale justice – issues like global inequality, conflict or climate change – but they are extremely sensitive to small-scale moral considerations,” he explains.
“When interacting with people in the same space or with whom they have direct personal contact, they feel a strong desire not to cause them worry or make them uncomfortable,” he adds.
– The school of life –
Household chores are part of Japanese education from a young age and children can be seen scrubbing school floors and tables every day.
Public trash cans are rare in the country, so people have to take their waste home. Getting rid of household waste in public spaces in Japan is an obstacle course.
Professor emeritus of sociology at Osaka University, Scott North says these groups of supporters are organized with leaders and followers.
“Since everyone comes together, we expect them to act as a group,” explains this American who has lived in Japan for around forty years. “And when the leaders take out their bags and say ‘let’s go’, no one is going to say no.”
“In Japan, as soon as a person starts picking up trash, those around them feel like they simply can’t help but imitate them,” Ohsawa insists.
“In this case, the primary motivation is not so much the desire to keep the stadium clean or to avoid causing work for those who have to clean it afterwards,” he explains. “It is more the desire not to be perceived as a nuisance within one’s own group.”
Whatever the motivations, the Japanese supporters present at this World Cup will continue to clean up as long as they are in the tournament and this, from the next match against Tunisia, Saturday in Mexico.
And Hagiwara will be happy to continue to lead by example.
Par Peter STEBBINGS with Andrew McKIRDY in Tokyo / Arlington (États-Unis) (AFP) / © 2026 AFP
