Japanese football fans have been praised for their ‘class’ and ‘respect’ after cleaning up after themselves following their team’s victory over England at Wembley.
The Samurai Blue gave Thomas Tuchel a major headache by inflicting a 1-0 defeat on the Three Lions in his team’s final run out before picking his 26-man squad to travel to the United States for the World Cup.
A first half strike from Kaoru Mitoma went unanswered as England failed to break down their visitors’ stubborn defence, leaving the German with plenty of questions to ponder before the tournament.
For the smattering of Japanese fans who witnessed a huge victory for their nation, they earnt further credit by tidying up the away section before leaving Wembley and heading into the capital.
The national stadium’s official social media account shared footage of fans putting litter into rubbish bags after the full time whistle had blown, with the caption ‘Thank you’.
Japanese football fans have been praised for cleaning up after themselves at Wembley
The Samarai Blue earnt a surprise 1-0 victory over England at Wembley on Tuesday night
‘Coming to our country, beating us up, and then still cleaning for us? Damn. That’s some sort of respect. Thank you Japan and respect,’ replied one football fan.
‘The Japanese are among the most humble people in the world. Respect,’ said another.
A third added: ‘It’s called respect, we can learn a lot from them.’
Japan’s fans were lauded for their tidiness during the 2022 World Cup in Qatar too, where they also cleaned up after themselves following their landmark 2-1 victory over Germany.
In Japan, cleanliness forms a huge part of the culture and installed in people from an early age.
Scott North, a professor of sociology at Osaka University, told the BBC in 2018 that tidying is a way of ‘demonstrating pride in the Japanese way of life’.
‘It’s not just part of the football culture but part of Japanese culture,’ he said. ‘You often hear people say that football is a reflection of culture. An important aspect of Japanese society is making sure that everything is absolutely clean and that’s the case in all sporting events and certainly also in football.
‘Cleaning up after football matches is an extension of basic behaviours that are taught in school, where the children clean their school classrooms and hallways,’ he added.
‘With constant reminders throughout childhood, these behaviours become habits for much of the population.’
