I have no idea what the team’s football’s like, but by golly the Japanese fans have once again got the world talking, haven’t they? I recall writing about them some years ago… instead of leaving the stadium along with everyone else when whatever it was they’d been watching came to an end, they pulled out refuse sacks they’d brought in especially for the occasion and filled them with every last bit of rubbish that had been left behind by other fans, sorting it into recyclables and non-recyclables as they worked. I wrote about them, inspired, then quickly forgot about them - as no doubt, did most of us. I hope that this time around we can keep the flame burning and use their selfless behaviour as an example of what can be achieved not only in keeping our environment clean but in garnering well-deserved respect from our peers for doing so, and teaching them to follow suit until it comes naturally to every single one of us.  

I’ve been writing in these Leaders for decades about the need for early education into having respect for our fellow man and our environment… going back to what I recall as being a kind of system of indoctrination: Never, ever drop litter anywhere, and if you happen to break any glass, make sure it’s thoroughly cleaned up – either by you if you’re old enough and capable of doing it safely, or by a responsible adult you’ve informed of the accident. Japan has this down to a tee. From their very first year at school and right the way through to graduation, students participate in ‘osouji jikan’ (cleaning time). Some schools I’m told, don’t even employ cleaning staff but instead make children responsible for sweeping and mopping classrooms and hallways and cleaning the bathrooms along with everything else. They’re taught and then they demonstrate themselves, that public spaces belong to us all, and that maintaining them beautifully is a civic responsibility that’s shared between everyone using them, rather than being someone else's job. 

When the fans travel to international events, they carry this lifestyle with them and effectively become Japan’s unofficial ambassadors. They see the stadium as a reflection of their country’s character, so aren’t prepared to leave it in a mess. They demonstrate their respect for the stadium workers and for the host country too. 

I’ll bet I’m not the only one who’s backing Japan to go a long way in the tournament, since the more the world watches the fans and the more the story of their efforts goes viral, the more likely it is that people the world over will realise that THIS is how we all need to behave day in, day out – whether at a major function or going about our day-to-day lives. We need to stop the rot now, and I’m hoping that the Japanese fans’ behaviour will be the catalyst.