Highlights:
- Japan’s football supporters earned praise for their efforts in picking up litter after matches at the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
- Around 100 fans are now in New Zealand to cheer on their national women’s team.
- Japanese supporters and players say tidying up is a show of respect in their culture.
With his chonmage (topknot) wig and samurai armour costume, Hirokazu Tsunoda - aka Tsun-san - is one of Japanese football’s most recognisable supporters.
Tsun-san is among some 100 Japanese fans who have made the journey to New Zealand to cheer on their women’s national football team, nicknamed Nadeshiko (diamthus).
Japanese football supporters in New Zealand Credit: Hirokazu Tsunoda
“I’m not the one who started it (collecting rubbish). Japanese supporters have been doing it for about 20 years, I believe. They started tidying up (only) the designated area for Japanese supporters, so that people in the world wouldn’t have a bad impression of Japan. Today we follow their practice,” Tsun-san told SBS Japanese.
Last year, he was in Qatar to support the Japan men’s team, nicknamed Samurai Blue.
After attending the opening match between the host nation and Ecuador, Tsun-san was “shocked by the amount of rubbish.” He and his group spontaneously started cleaning up.
“For Qatar 2022, we invited eight children from the areas affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake (which occurred in 2011), and they were all in Samurai armour costume. You know, kids in samurai armour collecting rubbish, that would have attracted attention.
“One famous influencer from the Middle East recorded us and posted the video on social media, and it went viral.”
Two days later, after the match between Japan and Germany, Japanese supporters were asked to gather in one place and thanked by the World Cup volunteers at the stadium.
Qatar’s FIFA World Cup organising committee also recognised the act and awarded around 30 Japanese supporters, including Tsun-san, for taking the initiative in cleaning the stadiums.
The supporters were invited to Qatar's One Tide pavilion and received flowers and souvenirs as tokens of appreciation.
‘You don’t want someone to dirty your home’
Since Japan’s professional men’s league, the J League, kicked off in 1993, collecting rubbish at stadiums has become a norm for fans.
Your team’s stadium is your home. You don’t want someone to dirty your home, and you don’t dirty someone’s home either.Tsun-san
He explained that in Japan, it’s common for students to clean their schools, right up until Year 12. He’s happy whenever their example catches on.
“It’s wonderful to see people from other countries start collecting rubbish like us. This has happened in New Zealand too. When we were collecting rubbish, people came to me and asked for a garbage bag. We collected rubbish together. That was fantastic.”
Japanese fans clean the stadium after a World Cup match in Wellington. Credit: Hirokazu Tsunoda
‘Everything with intention’
It’s not just the fans. Japan’s footballers have also built a reputation for their locker room etiquette.
Keiko Tanaka, who plays for Gladesville Ravens in the NSW NPL Womens in Australia, knows this well.
Ms Tanaka, a former Japan under-19 international, played in the Nadeshiko League (Japan’s old top women’s league) for nine years.
She came to Australia in January 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
“Since I was a little child, coaches repeatedly told me to leave things cleaner than what it was before. They said it was relevant to my performance (as a footballer),” Ms Tanaka said.
In football, when you pass the ball, you think about how the ball you passed will be used. You think about the next move. Passing the ball with intention. Making the room cleaner for the people who use it next. These are all connected, my coaches said.Keiko Tanaka
Keiko Tanaka plays in Australia for Gladesville Ravens. Credit: Dan Ullman
“What I am trying to do is to teach them Japanese-style football, such as greeting people properly, manners and caring for others as such.”
“Football is amazing. Everything is connected.”
Supporting Fukushima through football
Tsun-san started volunteering to support disaster victims in 2011, after the Great East Japan Earthquake hit, and his efforts amplified quickly thanks to his nationwide network of football supporters.
In 2011, Tsun-san and his volunteer team organised a bus tour for children affected by the earthquake to watch a local J League match.
"The children were hesitant at first as they thought they couldn't have fun at such a difficult time. We were not confident either. But then they started smiling and having fun by watching the match. Then I knew, this is it. So we've been inviting children to stadiums ever since."
In 2014, Tsun-san invited four children from disaster-affected areas to attend the men’s World Cup in Brazil, an act repeated in Russia in 2018 and Qatar in 2022.
This time, Tsun-san brought 500 headbands hand-drawn by children from the affected areas, and 100 fans made by employees of a sake company in Kyushu impacted by severe flooding in 2020.
Football fans in New Zealand wearing headbands and holding paper fans gifted by Japanese supporters. Credit: Hirokazu Tsunoda
‘This World Cup can change women’s sports in Japan’
Ms Tanaka was also in New Zealand to cheer for her country, attending Japan's 4-0 win over Spain to confirm top spot in Group C.
Japanese football player Keiko Tanaka (centre) cheers for Japan in New Zealand. Credit: Keiko Tanaka
“It’s not that Nadeshiko has lost its strength since 2011; rather, other countries are catching up,” Ms Tanaka said.
“I think (the young players) are gaining strength and momentum. I hope they will perform well enough to change the tide.”
On 14 July, a friendly match between Australia and France held in Melbourne attracted more than 50,000 attendances. On the same day, Tsun-san watched a game between Japan and Panama, held in Japan’s northern city of Sendai.
“The stadium has 20,000 capacity, but it was only half-filled. Apparently, the organiser offered many free tickets but that’s what happened,” Tsun-san said.
Hirokazu Tsunoda aka Tsun-san (right) came to New Zealand to cheer for the Japan women's national team. Credit: Hirokazu Tsunoda
“This is not about only women’s football. This World Cup could change women’s sports in Japan. I hope it will.”
Japan plays against Norway this Saturday at Wellington Regional Stadium in New Zealand. They will play in Australia only if they advance to the final.
LEARN JAPANESE
Slow Japanese
