Japanese football fans once again garnered significant social media attention for cleaning up stadiums after a World Cup match between Japan and the Netherlands on June 15. However, this act inadvertently ignited a meme criticizing men in the country for not applying similar behavioral standards at home.

Japanese fans clean up trash after a match at Dallas stadium, Texas, US, on June 15. *Photo: AFP*

The meme, posted by Atsuko Tamada on X, features two juxtaposed images: one showing football fans cleaning trash in the stands, and the other depicting a domestic scene with a wife washing dishes while her husband, dressed in a national team uniform, lounges on the sofa.

This meme draws inspiration from Tokyo Metro's humorous posters, which urge passengers to avoid disturbing others with actions like playing loud music or making noisy phone calls on trains. Artist Bunpei Yorifuji created these distinctive yellow and black posters.

"Please do that at home" serves as the slogan on the poster-style meme. Tamada also shared a graphic featuring data from the Global Gender Gap Report, which indicates Japan's ranking at 116th, placing it last among G7 nations for gender equality.

This image has been shared tens of thousands of times on social media, garnering numerous comments that express agreement with the author's perspective.

A poster urging Japanese men to do housework instead of just picking up trash at the World Cup. *Photo: X/atsukotamada*

The post references data indicating that Japanese men undertake only a small fraction of household tasks, such as cleaning, shopping, and childcare, even as more women enter the workforce. Data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reveals that Japanese men's contribution to housework is among the lowest across its member countries.

A 2021 Japanese government study found that men spend only 51 minutes per day on housework, compared to women's 3 hours and 24 minutes.

Many social media users also highlighted that Japanese people do not consistently clean up after all public events. In less frequented areas or following large weekend events, litter can still be observed scattered on the streets.

Hong Hanh (According to SCMP)