Japan supporters have gained a global reputation for leaving stadium seating areas clean after matches. The practice was first widely noticed when Japan made its World Cup debut in France in 1998 and has since been seen at subsequent World Cups, the Olympics and other major events where Japan competes.
At the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, fans of the Samurai Blue paused celebrations after a 2-1 win over Germany to clear the area of the Khalifa International Stadium where they had been sitting. Japanese supporters were also seen tidying the stands at the tournament opener between Qatar and Ecuador, even though Japan was not involved in that match.
Supporters often invoke the proverb “Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu,” which literally translates as “A bird leaves nothing behind” and carries the overall meaning of “Return it the way you found it.”
Scott North, a professor of sociology at Osaka University, told the BBC in 2018 that the behaviour extends from routines taught in schools, where children clean classrooms and hallways. “With constant reminders throughout childhood, these behaviours become habits for much of the population,” he said, adding that cleaning at events allows fans to demonstrate pride in their way of life and to share it with others.
Japan-based journalist Scott McIntyre told the BBC that the custom is part of general Japanese culture and a reflection of a societal emphasis on cleanliness at sporting events. Koichi Nakano, a politics and history lecturer at Sophia University, told The Associated Press that fans behave as they did when learning to enjoy sports in school, where physical education is accompanied by moral education. Barbara Holthus of the German Institute for Japanese Studies told the AP that socialization in Japan reinforces not wanting to inconvenience others, a contrast she said exists with Western expectations of public services cleaning public spaces.
