Japanese with anime voice: episode45
Hello, I’m Sachi.
May 3, today is both Garbage Day and Cleaning Day. It was established to emphasize the importance of reducing garbage and protecting the beauty of the environment. So today, let’s clean our homes. Even if it is just vacuuming.
Since it is Garbage Day, I thought I would talk about why Japanese cities are so clean today. I think this is something we Japanese can be proud of.
In Japanese schools, from elementary school to high school, there is a cleaning time. In the elementary and junior high schools I attended, there was a set cleaning time, and all students cleaned their assigned areas. In high school, I think it was a duty system. So, unlike the elementary and junior high schools, I think a small group of students cleaned after school or something. I don’t remember. In some areas, there may be places where students are on duty from junior high school, probably private schools, or something like that. I don’t know about universities, as I have never been to one.
And because schools are closed during the New Year’s holidays, before the winter break, all the students do 大掃除 (oosouji) together. 大掃除 (oosouji) means that we clean more than usual, and we clean every corner of the school. We are brought up with the custom of cleaning in this way from when we are young. So, basically, I think they have a high awareness of keeping a clean environment.
There are many opportunities to clean in the workplace. In shop-related workplaces, work usually starts with cleaning the shop in the morning. In the case of company employees, there are places where they do the cleaning themselves and other places where they hire a cleaning company. Even if a cleaning contractor is employed, some companies do their own cleaning, such as changing the refuse bags in each department and cleaning the desktops. Some companies organize cleaning activities around the company. Some do it with all employees, while others do it with just the person in charge.
In each area, neighbors get together several times a year to clean up the area. Each municipality sets a clean-up day, on which local people get together and clean up the area around their homes. In some areas, this is just picking up rubbish, while in others the grass is cut and even the ditch is cleaned.
In big cities like Tokyo, you might see cleaning companies and think that is why the city is so clean. But in the countryside, you rarely see cleaning companies asked to clean up the town. There are municipalities, though, that ask シルバー (silver) さん to mow the pavements and so on. シルバー (silver) さん is a place where people over 65 or 70 years old are asked to do the work. That’s usually in the summer or when there are more weeds. I don’t think there are any municipalities that ask people to pick up rubbish, but I don’t know the details. Incidentally, I don’t even know if there are contractors in big cities that clean up the streets. I’m just imagining, I don’t actually know much.
So, we have acquired the habit of keeping the places where we study, work, and live clean by ourselves. This is why the landscape of the city as a whole is maintained. And I think people think that Japan is beautiful. Even so, it doesn’t mean that everywhere is always perfectly clean.
Also, sometimes psychological operations are carried out to encourage people to use public places in a clean way. I think this is quite interesting.
In particular, convenience stores and train station toilets have a sign saying ‘Thank you for always using the toilets clean’. It is always visible. If you are told to use the toilet in a clean way before you use it, you can’t make it dirty. Moreover, they even thank you first. You have to use it properly and neatly. I really admire the person who thought of this. They really understand the psychology of people. When you come to Japan, please look for this statement when you go to the toilet! As I said before, it’s usually in a conspicuous place, so you’ll naturally see it even if you don’t look for it. LOL
