For years, Japanese football fans have won praise for cleaning up stadiums after World Cup matches. But this time, they’re catching heat at home.
When photos emerged this week of Japanese fans combing the stands with trash bags after a match, some saw a double standard: men who clean after themselves in public while leaving the burden at home to their wives.
A Japanese poster went viral soon after, juxtaposing a man picking litter at the stadium with the same guy reclined on a sofa at home, using his phone near a basket of laundry while his wife did the dishes.
Men in Japan should “pitch in more at home” as their time spent doing chores is among the shortest in the world, the poster text read.
That post has been liked 60,000 times on X.
“Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help mom do the dishes,” an X user commented, referencing a quote by American author PJ O’Rourke.
“There’s probably a guy among these people picking up trash, who has a young kid at home and left his wife to look after them to come watch the World Cup,” wrote another.
Cleanliness and cleaning up after oneself in public places is deeply ingrained in Japanese culture.