In 2018, Japan made headlines when Japanese fans cleaned up and picked up garbage left by spectators at a World Cup football game. For Japanese fans, cleaning the stadium was a way to show respect and pay tribute to the athletes.
Osouji (Cleaning) Culture
Japanese people are taught the importance of maintaining a clean environment from when they are young. Japanese public schools do not rely on janitors to keep the environment clean. Instead, students have time set aside for cleaning and tidying in the afternoon, called osouji. Students are to clean their assigned location; some hand wipe the floors, some move the desks, and some clean the hallway. Students rotate between roles from time to time and clean the whole campus as a team every single day. Students do not necessarily enjoy this “osouji” time, however, students learn to clean up after themselves and develop a habit of doing so. It is also a way for them to learn to not only clean up their items for themselves, but to keep things clean for others.
Japan has held an event called, “SPO GOMI” (スポGOMI), since 2008 in hopes to spread the importance and raise awareness of public cleanliness. In this event, high school students compete for the amount of trash they were able to find in the streets in a given amount of time. “SPO GOMI” is a very unique event that treats street cleaning as a sport, which has taken place over 500 times, and 16,180 bags of garbage have been collected thus far!
Growing up with these practices and habits, cleaning has become a big part of Japanese people's daily routine. Even as adults, employees of Japanese traditional companies will empty trash and do osouji in the morning before work begins - and depending on your company, you might be asked to do the same. After meetings, employees themselves put the cups and trash away and make sure that it is clean and tidy for the next people to use.
Garbage in Public
As Japanese people tend to be sensitive and aware of other people’s eyes, they are extra careful when handling garbage in public.
Public trash bins are only placed strategically, especially outside the train stations. This encourages people to dispose of their garbage in their own homes. Generally speaking, Japanese people tend to avoid eating while standing/walking in public as it can be seen as unmannerly. In public, many people use convenience store bags as trash bags and bring them back home if they fail to find an appropriate public garbage can.
Garbage Disposal
The rules for garbage disposal and recycling can be very complicated as each ward has its own system and regulations. It is important to put the right type of trash out on the appropriate date at a requested time. Many people take out the trash right before the collection time instead of the night before to avoid being picked by the Japanese crows which can easily leave a huge mess in the streets. This is why people who leave trash outdoors for pick up place their trash bags under a net to keep them in a safe place. The designated bags for each type of trash can be purchased in the nearest convenience stores. For more information on trash and recycling, visit the less on Trash & Recycling under the Adapting section.