Japan is once again winning plaudits for civic sense and cleanliness at the FIFA World Cup after Japanese fans were seen cleaning the Dallas Stadium following their team’s match against the Netherlands in Group F on Sunday.
The supporters of Japan’s national team, known as the Samurai Blue, stayed behind after the final whistle at the stadium to collect trash from the stands, using the same blue bags they had waved enthusiastically during the match.
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Throughout the game, Japanese supporters raised the blue bags in unison while chanting for their team, creating a vibrant display in the stands. After the match, however, the bags served a different purpose as fans methodically gathered litter before leaving the venue.
The cleanup effort is part of a tradition that first drew international attention during Japan’s debut World Cup appearance in France in 1998. Japanese fans have repeated the gesture at every World Cup since, including the tournament in Qatar in 2022, the Associated Press reported.
“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,” Koichi Nakano, a professor of politics and history at Sophia University, told AP.
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Sharing the video of Japanese fans cleaning the stadium, the official handle of FIFA wrote, “The reason Japan fans clean the stadium after each game. Respect.”
The video has since gone viral, amassing over two million views and a wave of praise. “I worked in elementary and middle schools in Japan. All of the kids are assigned to different parts of the school and clean. I would clean with them as a way to bond with them outside of English lessons. It was rather exhausting especially in summer but I had fun overall,” a user shared.
Another user commented, “This should be the standard, hopefully this starts to rub off on people.” A third user reacted, “Beautiful. There is indeed a reason why Japan is different from other countries – Kudos.”
The supporters of Japan’s national team stayed behind after the final whistle at the stadium to clean (Photo: @FIFAcom/X) 
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