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‘Amazing culture’: Japan fans win hearts for cleaning up World Cup stadium despite losing to Costa Rica

Japan supporters cleaning the stadium is becoming a tradition as this is the second time this year that they have stayed back to do something similar

AL RAYYAN, QATAR: Japanese people are known for their culture and non-negotiable ethics, and something similar was seen once again in Qatar during the 2022 World Cup. Japan was looking promising this year after defeating Germany and securing three points. However, Costa Rica's Keysher Fuller played down their reality after he scored a goal in the 81st minute. But for Japan's supporters, the game ended after they stayed back and cleaned the stadium. The match took place in Ahmed bin Ali Stadium or better known as the Al-Rayyan Stadium on Sunday, November 27.

The Japanese supporters cleaning the stadium is becoming a tradition as this is the second time this year that they have stayed back to do something similar. Previously, after their win against Germany, the Japan team left their dressing room absolutely spotless with the floors swept, garbage sorted into piles, and windows left open for ventilation. On the other hand, Japanese fans could be seen handing out trash bags to each other and cleaning Khalifa International Stadium. But this is not the first instance where Japanese fans have cleaned the stadium. They did the same during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil after a 2-1 loss to Ivory Coast and again after a 2-1 win over Colombia at the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Official Fifa World Cup 2022 also tweeted about this moment saying, "Tidying up after one of their greatest #FIFAWorldCup wins Huge respect to these Japanese fans #Qatar2022"

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Japanese fans earn praise for regularly cleaning stadiums

One user wrote, "Japan is a very tidy country. They look down on you if you throw trash in the streets. They have trays for you to place your money when you buy things. They have paper in the gum wrappers to put your gum in and throw away after chewing it." Another user wrote, "They taught us: What is education and what is civilization! I am extremely proud that I am also an Asian just like them. Tons and tons of love and applause for such a glorious gesture!"

One user tweeted, "The world can learn a lot from this and from Japanese culture generally. Although I don’t speak the language I’ve spent a lot of time in Japan and have a deep respect for the people and the culture. They do a lot of things right." Another user tweeted, "Isn't their attitude so amazing? They don't need custodians in the schools because the students clean up the place themselves. Maybe non-Japanese should have this attitude instead of littering their country." 

One user wrote, "In Tokyo we saw no litter anywhere. Yet there were no trash cans anywhere. If you bought a candy bar or soda, you just packed out the wrapper or can. Amazing how ingrained neatness is in Japanese culture!" Another user quipped, "This does not surprise me one bit. Lived in Yokosuka Japan for 5.5 years. Japan culture >>> United States. Fantastic people. Fantastic country."

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