Watch: Japanese World Cup fans exemplify good manners – pick up rubbish from stands

June 22, 2018

The World Cup is a cultural melting pot in more ways than one, and Japan's fans have shown their striking good manners and commitment to cleanliness in their opening match in Russia.

The "Samurai Blue" took to the stands with large garbage bags following their upset 2-1 victory over Colombia in Saransk to clean up the rubbish they had scattered.

"It's not just part of the football culture but part of Japanese culture," Japan-based football journalist Scott McIntyre told the BBC. 

"You often hear people say that football is a reflection of culture. An important aspect of Japanese society is making sure that everything is absolutely clean and that's the case in all sporting events and certainly also in football."

One Scottish football fan, Chirstopher McKaig, filmed the clean up effort describing it as his "favourite moment of the World Cup so far" and one of "the lessons in life we can take from the game. Why I support".

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