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Japan’s tidy fans win support at the World Cup

Japanese football supporters amazed journalists covering the World Cup in Russia by cleaning up the sports stadium.

They used plastic bags they’d brought with them to clear away their rubbish. One tabloid paper called them “the best fans in the world”.

The Japanese are known as being clean and tidy but this team effort reveals much about their national character traits.

It also gives a clue as to why many Japanese businesses thrive internationally.

Read more in this week’s Japan Story blog.


Japan Story’s blog is written by former BBC Tokyo Correspondent Duncan Bartlett. Each week he analyses how Japan’s story is being told to the world through the international media.