Civic responsibility

When I was blogging about St Patrick's Day yesterday I forgot to mention one of the things that impressed me most about the parade. It's also one of the things I like best about the attitude of most Japanese people.
There is a really strong sense of civic responsibilty in the national character - something which can be very lacking at times in the country of my birth.
So the very last group in the parade, and one of the largest contingents, was all these volunteers meticulously picking up and disposing of any rubbish the crowds had left behind.
I know there a many, many examples I could give of times when this society is totally messed up and definitely not a model for other countries, but the above story surely highlights one of the admirable things.