First litter-picking ‘World Cup’ held in Tokyo

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STORY: This is the inaugural litter clean-up 'World Cup' in Tokyo

‘SpoGomi’ is a combination of the

Japanese words for sport and trash

Date: November 22, 2023

Participants from 21 countries gathered to compete

for the title by picking up the most trash in 90 minutes

(Petra Williams, Participant from Australia)

"It's a great opportunity to come to Japan to learn about the culture but also in a wider spectrum, it's really important for us to all have responsibility to look after our planet."

(Mitsuyuki Unno, Executive Director, The Nippon Foundation)

"The first important thing is to make people who are not yet aware of the marine waste problem realize the situation of litter in the ocean. The second purpose of this event is to actually provide opportunities for people who become aware of the issue and want to take some actions."

England took home the 2023 title

The next SpoGomi World Cup is expected in 2025

(Sarah Parry, Team UK participant)

"Thank you so much. I'd just like to say picking trash is a sport!"