As shocking as the game results were to all — including Japan — it was the Japanese fans themselves that caught the world’s attention as they meticulously cleaned the stands and collected garbage after the game. Some Japanese fans were even spotted handing out trash bags in order to ensure litter collection at the Khalifa International Stadium .

“We are Japanese, and we do not leave rubbish behind us,” explained one fan. “We respect the place.”

This is not a first for sports fans from Japan, who have been seen doing these good deeds at other matches in Qatar, as well as at previous World Cup tournaments. Although for the rest of the world this cleaning up of a collective mess is shocking, for the Japanese it is considered customary to collect trash from a space they have been using.

This idea is instilled in them from childhood, when they are taught to clean up at home and at school, where schools are cleaned by the students themselves, rather than by janitors.

On this world stage of the 2022 World Cup, the Japanese fans are displaying a beautiful sign of humanity and respect, and one can only hope it catches on to the rest of the world.