OSAKA (TR) – Volunteer scuba divers plunged into the murky waters of Osaka City’s Dotonbori River on May 30, hauling up sunken bicycles, discarded chairs and lost wallets as part of the annual “Zero Waste” day cleanup effort, reports the Sankei Shimbun (May 30).
At around 7:30 a.m., 16 divers representing the environmental diving team “Be a Diver,” Kansai TV, and the Ebisubashi-suji Shopping Street Association strapped on air tanks and descended into the iconic waterway. The team continuously dragged submerged debris from the river bottom onto a waiting boat.
Now in its second year, the underwater cleanup initiative is driven by local business associations and broadcasters hoping to rid the area of submerged junk and present a clean city to an influx of tourists.
“The visibility was worse than last time, but I managed to collect empty bottles,” said 49-year-old Rokujin Hori, a diver participating for the second consecutive time. “I hope it gets cleaned up so that eventually, the river itself becomes something people can truly enjoy.”
KAREN, a member of the music unit LUV K RAFT who also participated in the dive, expressed hopes that the grueling effort serves as a reality check for the public. “By doing this cleanup and sending out a message, I want people to be strictly aware that littering is completely unacceptable,” she said.
Above the water, the cleanup blitz continued as the Chuo Ward Office and the local shopping street association co-hosted a “full wash” of the famous Ebisubashi Bridge. Around 70 participants, including families with children, broke a sweat wielding long-handled brushes to aggressively scrub down the bustling symbol of the Minami nightlife district.
