Cynicism is spreading in Japan over the country's long-running "heartwarming story" of its supporters picking up trash at World Cup stadiums. Unlike the past trend of consuming foreign praise as "Japan that amazed the world," this North and Central America World Cup has stirred rhetorical questions and cynicism such as, "Don't they just want to be praised for something that should be taken for granted?"
Japanese supporters, when major international events like baseball or soccer end, walk through the stands with blue plastic bags that read "Japan Pride" and pick up PET bottles and paper cups. It became known at the 1998 France World Cup, Japan's first appearance, and has been repeated at the Olympics, the World Cup, and the World Baseball Classic (WBC).
On the 12th, after the match against the Netherlands ended 2-2, Japanese fans also collected trash in the stands. The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) official X (formerly Twitter) account introduced why Japanese fans clean the stadium after every match and posted that it "shows respect." U.S. FOX Sports also shared the Japanese national team's tidied locker room. On the 17th, Portuguese fans followed Japan's example and cleaned the stands after the match against the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Houston, U.S.
On the 16th (local time), Nikkan Sports highlighted both the overseas praise and the domestic criticism in Japan while introducing FIFA's cleaning video. Nikkan Sports said, "There are also reactions that there is no need to conspicuously pick up nearby trash just to appeal that 'Japanese people are amazing' to those abroad," adding, "There were also comments that an atmosphere of forcing everyone to do the 'right thing' could harm Japanese society from within."
They premised that the act of leaving the stands clean is a good thing. However, they expressed hostility toward packaging the etiquette of cleaning up one's own trash as "Japanese civic-mindedness that amazed the world" every time, Japanese media parroting FIFA and foreign media's praise as "the world was impressed," and the public then consuming that praise again. Some also asked whether the same ethics apply not only at international events where they pick up others' trash but also at domestic festivals or in households.
On the 17th, online outlet Sirabee summarized the negative public sentiment in Japan in more detail. According to the outlet, within Japan, criticism was raised against a domestic sports culture that flaunts its cleaning habits: "Isn't it done because of how foreigners see Japanese people? It only looks good on the surface," and "I think it's admirable, but there is no small amount of pressure to conform." There were also questions like, "Why don't people actively pick up trash at events in Japan?" Some users shared reactions such as, "Do they do the same after J.League (Japan Professional Football League) matches?" and "Do men who diligently pick up trash help their wives with housework at home?"
Weekly Josei Prime pointed out that the Japanese fan cleaning culture originally became a recurring scene at every major tournament featuring Japan after U.S. sports outlet ESPN first reported it following the 1998 France World Cup. Weekly magazine SPA! columnist Ishiguro Takayuki said, "This time, U.S. broadcaster CBS also showed the cleaning scenes, and praise spread from FIFA's official social media," then raised the question, "Isn't it simply that they want to be praised as polite Japanese?" The outlet noted, "There is a big gap between behavior seen overseas and the disorder seen within Japan," adding, "A post that mocked how Japanese men, who participate little in housework and childcare even by global standards, only work hard to pick up trash on the World Cup stage drew a big response."
This line of questioning did not emerge for the first time at this tournament. When Japanese fans' trash collection and the national team's tidied locker room were widely reported at the 2022 Qatar World Cup, counterarguments surfaced within Japan. Nonfiction writer Kubota Masaki said in weekly magazine Diamond that he "feels Japan's decline" when seeing reports that "Japanese trash pickup is the best in the world." He asked whether "Japan, which has lost the confidence it once had in technology, the economy, and international presence, is compensating for its self-esteem with the compliment of being 'the most polite people in the world.'"