Oita Conducts Citywide Cleanup for New Guinness Record

Aiming to make their city the cleanest one in Japan, 147,410 citizens joined a citywide cleanup in Oita City, Oita Prefecture in southern Japan on August 7, 2005. The city will apply to have this record turnout noted in the Guinness Book of Records.

The city's target for setting a world record was at least 75,000 participants, to beat the 74,206 recorded on October 3, 2004, at a cleanup conducted in Kitakyushu City in Fukuoka Prefecture, the northern neighbor of Oita Prefecture. Kitakyushu's achievement was officially recognized in the world record book in August 2005. Those who joined the cleanup in Oita City accounted for one-third of the city's population of 465,000.

To set a new Guinness record of participants in the citywide cleanup, between 7 a.m. and noon, citizens collected empty cans, cigarette butts and other litter on the streets between their homes and the collection sites. They signed their names at the collection sites and received certificates for participation.

Oita City is promoting community building through the collaboration among citizens, businesses and the municipal government, aiming to become the country's cleanest city--free of litter, well cleaned and full of flowers. It held the first meeting of a specially created promotion committee for the cleanest city project in April 2005 and has taken various approaches, such as inviting the citizens to nickname the mascot character for the public relations activities and holding a slogan competition.

http://www.city.oita.oita.jp/en/index.html

Posted: 2005/11/23 09:04:14 PM
Japanese version