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Tokyo, Japan never sleeps and is also always perfectly clean. Where does this Japanese passion for cleanliness come from?
Tokyo, the largest megalopolis on the planet with over 37 million inhabitants, is known for its neon signs and legendary cleanliness. Its streets are considered to be among the cleanest in the world. In addition to road services, which work during the day, volunteers take over after dark. Kana Mikami comes one evening a week with her two children aged 13 and 16. “We live in the neighborhood, and as we sometimes find that everything is not perfectly clean, we come to lend a hand. For us, it is an activity like a other”, she explains.
In this school for boys, recess lasts 10 minutes less than elsewhere in the world. This time is dedicated to cleaning the classroom, from the floor to the tables, including the blackboard. A typically Japanese tradition and a ritual of cleanliness to which children are accustomed from an early age. “It’s okay to do it everyday, and I feel better when it’s clean”, confides a schoolboy. The history of Japan is closely linked to Shintoism, considered to be the oldest religion in the country. The cleanliness of the body and the soul are very present there.