The Japanese Continue to Impress Me

The World Cup started a couple days ago and so far, it has been great and continues to show that it is the biggest event in the world. Every four years we can see countries come together because of one sport and the togetherness and love of the game is something needed, especially in this society. My county Ghana is playing of course and I'm hoping we make it far and for anyone whose country qualified. May the odds be in all over favors. There was a game between the Netherlands and Japan here in Dallas and it was amazing to see the fans coming all out to cheer on their team. The game ended in a 2-2 tie and both teams deserved the point for how well they played but one group of people stood out through all this and of course it was the Japanese.

I have written about my trip to Japan last year multiple times on this blog and how impressive and amazing the people are but now the whole world is getting the opportunity to see it firsthand, and I couldn't be happier. The topic of discussion after the game was not the game itself but of the Japanese people. The Japanese fans after the game could be seen picking up the trash and litter around the stadium. When asked about it they answered simply by saying it is "Japanese Culture" to tidy up after themselves and I'm not surprised. They left the stadium how they found it. My time in Asia was dominated by the cleanliness of the cities no matter what part I was at.

They said it was a habit they learned early in school and that they must think about everyone and it is always their goal to make a place look tidier when they leave then how they arrived to it. This may not be a huge deal to the ordinary person but look at the streets of Los Angeles, Parts of New York, here in Dallas and recently my trip to Belgium. None of those places can compare in cleanliness to Japan. NFL Quarterback Jameis Winston also joined in on the act because like the Japanese say, "If one person starts picking up litter, others around them will also be motivated to join in". It is the culture and they lead by example. I'm happy the world is having a front seat to the way of the Japanese and I'm hoping they inspire others not just in cleanliness but their way of life. The Japanese have mastered enlightenment, and we can get there too.