At 7:30 a.m. on Mar. 29, the 48-year-old arrives at April 30 Park in Ben Thanh Ward carrying dozens of tongs, plastic bags and T-shirts and waits for other volunteers.

In the next 30 minutes nearly 20 people of various nationalities join him. Equipped with jackets, gloves and tongs, they fan out along walkways and lawns to collect plastic bottles and candy wrappers.

Fuji stays at the back, picking up smaller pieces of litter, his shirt soaked with sweat under the sun.

By late morning the collected trash is tied into bundles and taken to a collection point. The Japanese man, who lives in An Khanh Ward, bows to thank the volunteers.

He has maintained this routine every Sunday morning for the past 10 years, rain or shine.

In 2015, during a trip across Southeast Asia, the businessman from Fukuoka stopped in Vietnam. Right after leaving the airport, he noticed the city’s bustle, with motorbikes filling the streets and food stalls lining the sidewalks.

The next day, standing in front of his hotel, he spent nearly half an hour choosing a place to eat as a myriad of options were available within walking distance.

“The noise and vibrancy were completely different from the orderly but sometimes monotonous life in Japan. I immediately fell in love with Vietnam and thought I had to stay,” he says.

During his first week in HCMC he spent most of his evenings walking on overpasses and says he saw plastic bottles and cans tucked away in hidden corners that he began picking up.

He later posted on Facebook inviting others to join in his cleanup efforts and made new friends in the process.

In Japan, picking up trash, known as gomi hiroiis a common activity. Children take part from school as a way to clean and build community awareness.

Fuji’s first group cleanup took place in the fall of 2015 with more than 40 people joining him. The group collected litter at Hoang Van Thu Park and September 23rd Park.

Since then he has organized regular cleanups with 20-40 participants joining each time. He pays for uniforms and equipment.

More than 5,000 people have taken part so far, most of them young Vietnamese or expatriates.

Fuji says some travel all the way from neighboring provinces places like Binh Duong and Long An Province to join.

By the third year some Vietnamese families began bringing their children. He recalls a father who encouraged his son to retrieve a plastic bottle stuck under a bench instead of doing it for him.

“I realized that picking up trash is not only about cleaning a street, but also about how we learn to care for shared spaces.”

Kenta Fuji (in white) and volunteers collect trash at April 30 Park in HCMC on the morning of March 29, 2026. Photo by Read/Ngoc Ngan

He says he wanted to contribute to Vietnam after having the opportunity to live and work here.

He refers to the Japanese concept of onwhich describes a sense of obligation to repay what one receives from the community.

After 10 years in Vietnam, he feels he has received more than he has given.

Alex, an American who has lived in Vietnam for nine years and been a volunteer for over a year, says he was discouraged at first when trash reappeared shortly after cleanups. But over time public awareness has increased and the situation has improved, he says.

“Kenta is very busy. Some days, with only an hour to go for work, he still shows up on time to pick up trash. We are deeply inspired by his diligence.”