Every four years, Japan wins the same World Cup — not on the pitch, but in the stands, where order and civic virtue are performed for a global audience.
The images have become a ritual: blue-clad supporters, trash bags in hand, leaving behind a spotless stadium and a viral reminder of how a society presents itself.
When Japan drew with the Netherlands at the World Cup this month, cameras quickly returned to that familiar scene. FIFA applauded. The images spread within minutes, as they have every four years since France 1998, filed under a familiar heading: Japanese virtue made visible.
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