World-class act: Japanese fans clean up World Cup stadium even though it wasn't a Japan match

The Japanese are widely known for their impeccable manners and prosocial behaviour, and it seems they've brought this over with them to Qatar for the World Cup.

In a recent social media post, some Japanese football fans were spotted staying back at the Al Bayt Stadium stadium on Monday (Nov 21) to clear the rubbish left in the stands.

The best part? Their national team wasn't even playing that night. The opening match was between Qatar and Ecuador, where the latter won 2-0. 

Their actions were caught on video by Bahraini influencer Omar Farooq, who uploaded the clip on his Instagram account. 

"Something you haven't seen from the World Cup opening!" he wrote in the caption. 

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/ClN3WSIIKLF/?hl=en[/embed]

In the video, several Japanese football fans wearing what looks like their national team jerseys were seen picking up empty bottles and food wrappers from between the rows of seats, placing them into plastic bags. 

"Japanese never leave rubbish behind," a woman told Omar in the video. "We respect the place." 

"Not for the cameras," another man said. 

Inspired by their graciousness, Omar joined in as well. 

Omar's video also garnered praise from netizens, one of whom even remarked: "I wish everyone would learn from Japan".

This isn't the first time that the Japanese have shown their best side to the rest of the world. 

During the last World Cup in 2018, the Japanese football team were commended for cleaning up their locker room after their match against Belgium — which they lost. 

They even left a thank-you note written in Russian for their hosts. 

[embed]https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1014116615431114752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1014116615431114752%7[/embed]

Even the football fans were spotted cleaning up after themselves at the venue. In an interview with AFP back then, one fan, Masaya Tsukada said that cleaning up after a game was an unofficial "fan rule". 

"Japan is not just the players, it is everything, the fans too. We need to play our part to represent the country well."

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claudiatan@asiaone.com