Japan had made a big upset in their first match of the FIFA World Cup-2022 and defeated the 2014 winner Germany. After this match, the fans of Japan were seen cleaning the stadium.
FIFA World Cup-2022 is currently being played in Qatar. (AFP photo)
Akshit Joshi
In the FIFA World Cup-2022, Japan surprised the whole world by defeating Germany 2-1 in its first group-stage match on Wednesday. The 2014 champion Germany was defeated by the Japanese team by one goal. A clip of Japan’s impressive win is going viral and shows Blue Brigade supporters picking up litter and trash from the stadium and putting it in blue garbage bags.
A similar scene was also seen during the 2018 World Cup in Russia when Japan fans won everyone’s heart by cleaning the stadium despite losing 3-2 to Belgium.
stand out from the rest
FIFA World Cup matches have a long history of fans going out of control in most countries’ stadiums. It can be said that football and violent supporters go hand-in-hand. Unruly crowds often go on the streets and become a haven for anarchists and anti-social elements. From drunken brawls to racist taunts, the World Cup has always been infamous.
In such an environment, the step of Japanese supporters to pick up the garbage from the stadium really makes sense, although Japanese supporters are seen in the stadium in strange clothes and often with face paint, but the distinctive habit of cleanliness and good manners has always distinguished them from the rest. kept away from the audience. Japan-based football journalist Scott McIntyre told the BBC in 2018 that cleaning the stadium like this is not only part of football culture, but also part of Japanese culture.
Scott McIntyre said that you often hear people saying that football is a reflection of culture. An important aspect of Japanese society has been to ensure that there is complete cleanliness around and this is taken care of during every game. Of course the same happens with football.
cultural significance
The reason behind the exemplary behavior shown by Japanese fans on Wednesday lies in the culture and fabric of Japanese society. Japanese people give priority to cleanliness and consider it a special quality. Cities in Japan do not have such a problem with graffiti art, but garbage is not such a big problem there as it is in other big cities of Asia.
This is because residents in Japan are reminded about the importance of keeping their environment neat and clean at all times. Foreign tourists visiting Japan often notice that there are no dustbins in the streets of towns and cities. Although there is nothing unique in this for the Japanese as it is part of their culture to take their garbage with them and throw them in the dustbin of their house. And if it is not possible to do so, then you can use the dustbin of your nearest convenience store. Of course, this is not the only reason why dustbins are not usually found on Japanese streets.
In fact, this idea of being respectful of our environment is taught to the Japanese from a very young age. Children there are encouraged to clean their schools. This is not to make use of the available child labor but to teach life skills, environmental awareness and respect for others to the future generations.
Aeon, a popular chain of Eikaiwa schools that teaches conversational English, does not employ any cleaning staff at its premises. The teachers and the administrative staff running it are responsible for its cleanliness. There is a saying in Japan: Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu (Tatsu tori ato wo nigosazu) which in Hindi means that no bird ever spoils the nest it is about to leave.
Source: www.tv9hindi.com