Japan fans clean Dallas stadium after 2-2 draw with Netherlands, continuing a tradition dating back to 1998

Match ends, cleanup begins

The match itself was a thriller: Netherlands took the lead twice, but Japan answered each time, with Daichi Kamada’s late strike in the 88th minute earning a point. Within minutes of the final whistle, fans of the Samurai Blue pulled out the blue plastic bags they had used to wave during celebrations and began methodically collecting cups, wrappers and other rubbish from the stands. Staff at AT&T Stadium said the effort significantly eased post-match cleaning.

“We are taught that when we use a place, we should leave it cleaner than we found it. For example, at school we clean our classrooms ourselves without the teacher having to tell us.”

A tradition stretching back to 1998

The ritual first caught international attention at the 1998 World Cup in France, when Japan appeared at a finals tournament for the first time. At every World Cup since – South Africa, Brazil, Russia, Qatar and now the United States – Japanese supporters have left their sections spotless.

In Russia in 2018, they cleaned the stands even after a painful last-16 defeat to Belgium. The players, too, left their locker room immaculate and a handwritten thank-you note in Russian. At Qatar 2022, fans were seen tidying up after wins over Germany and Spain, and even at matches in which Japan did not play.

Where it comes from

Observers trace the urge to a bedrock of Japanese education. Children clean their own classrooms, corridors and common spaces daily from primary school onward, instilling a sense of responsibility for public spaces.

“Japanese sports fans behave at international events much as they did in their school days, when they learned to take responsibility for their surroundings.”

Sociologist Masachi Ohsawa points to a blend of social responsibility and group pressure: “Japanese people tend to show little interest in large-scale justice – global inequality, conflicts, climate change – but are extremely sensitive to small-scale moral considerations. When they interact with people in the same space, they feel a strong desire not to cause trouble or discomfort.”

Fans often cite the saying “tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu” – roughly, “a bird leaving no mess behind” – as a motto.

A cameo from the NFL

The images went viral again when New York Giants quarterback Jameis Winston, in Dallas as a World Cup correspondent for FOX Sports, was filmed wearing a Japan jersey with his name and number 4 and helping fans collect rubbish.

“He’s a man of the people. Find me one first-round draft pick in NFL history who takes out his own trash bag and cleans the inside of a stadium.”

Winston had earlier endeared himself to Dutch fans by riding in their team bus to Dallas, calling the Netherlands supporters “the greatest army.”

Clean locker room too

The Japanese players followed suit. Reporters noted that in their locker room after the match, towels and training bibs were neatly stacked, with jerseys left folded by the entrance – a quiet echo of the fans’ post-match ritual.