Cleanups in partnership with professional sports teams across Japan.
Why not have your team take part too?
Participating Teams
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J.League
21teams
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WE League
1teams
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JFL /
Regional2teams
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Basketball
2teams
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Rugby
1teams
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Hockey
1teams
We currently partner with 28 teams in total.
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J.LeagueJ League
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WE LeagueWE League
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JFL / RegionalJFL &
Regional -
B.LeagueBasketball
Team -
RugbyRugby Team
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HockeyHockey Team
2025 Results
Participating LTO Teams
25teams
Football 21 teams / Basketball 2 teams / Rugby 1 team / Hockey 1 team
Total Annual Cleanup Participants
20,335people
Cleanup Masters
869people
(as of Jan 1, 2026)
Total Annual Stadium &
Arena Attendance
3,405,301people
Shonan Bellmare
Cerezo Osaka
Yokohama F. Marinos
Kawasaki Frontale
Ventforet Kofu
Kataller Toyama
Yokohama FC
JEF United Ichihara Chiba
What is LTO?
LEADS TO THE OCEAN (LTO) means exactly that — everything leads to the ocean.
About 80% of ocean trash comes from rivers, towns and cities,
so we need to help more people understand that the trash in our streets ends up in the sea.
Teaming up with many professional sports teams,
we raise awareness for the ocean across Japan and, through hands-on cleanups,
reduce the outflow of trash into the sea.
It's a passionate, warm-hearted project built on the belief that, if we join forces, we really can make the ocean clean.
Big-Screen Broadcasts
At home games, we broadcast environmental message videos on the big screen to the crowds gathered at each home stadium and arena.
Cleanups With Supporters
and FansWe hold cleanups around stadiums, arenas, and station areas. Anyone can take part, beyond the boundaries of any single team.
Eco-Friendly Trash Bags
The soccer-ball-patterned bags are made from "Rice Resin," a domestic biomass plastic made from non-edible rice. For the red and blue bags, we have newly adopted "Enelfish," a marine-biodegradable plastic bag designed to address the marine plastic problem. Even if they reach the sea, they break down naturally.
Original LTO Tongs
We use tongs made in Tsubame-Sanjo, Niigata, that easily grab even dirty, slippery trash.
Cleanup Master Awards
We issue stamp cards to participants and recognize "Cleanup Masters" based on the stamps they collect over the year.
Voices of the Cleanup Masters
We call those who join many LTO cleanups over the year "LTO Cleanup Masters." Take a look at their impressions and how taking part has changed them!
If your professional sports team is thinking "We want to be an LTO team and help clean up the ocean!"
please get in touch with the LTO organizer, Umisakura (NPO).
Playing Ambassador
Yoichiro Kakitani
Yoichiro Kakitani
Ambassador Activity History
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2026.5.3
Took part in the Giravanz Kitakyushu LTO cleanup
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2026.3.20
Took part in the LTO KANAGAWA EVENT 2026 public press conference & cleanup
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2025.7.21
Took part in Blue Santa Cleanup 2025 @ Enoshima (Marine Day), hosted by LTO organizer Umisakura (NPO)
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2025.6.21
Took part in the Sagan Tosu LTO cleanup
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2025.6.3
Blue Santa & LTO partnership press conference
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2025.5.31
Took part in a cleanup hosted by LTO organizer Umisakura (NPO)
YouTube Videos
Yoichiro Kakitani appointed LTO Playing Ambassador!!
Ambassador Kakitani looks back on LTO cleanups in 2025
For Pro Teams Interested in LTO
Here are some of the things LTO has done so far, along with videos shown at match venues.
Big-Screen Videos
These are videos shown at stadiums and arenas.
Learning
In December 2024, we went to Tsushima with the LTO team representatives to learn about the reality of ocean trash.
Cleanup Master Awards
This is a highlights video of the 2025 Cleanup Master Awards (for J.League teams).
Other Examples
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LTO Activities Involving the Prefecture and City
A challenge to expand the activities further by bringing in the prefecture and city (Keep trash from Saga out of the ocean!).
Sagan Tosu, Umisakura (NPO), The Nippon Foundation, Saga Prefecture, Tosu City
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LTO Activities Involving the Shopping Street
A monthly cleanup at the Togoshi Ginza shopping street, a challenge to keep both the shopping street and the ocean clean (Keep trash from the shopping street out of the ocean!).
Tokyo Verdy Hockey Team, Umisakura (NPO), The Nippon Foundation, Togoshi Ginza Shopping Street
If your professional sports team is thinking "We want to be an LTO team and help clean up the ocean!"
please get in touch with the LTO organizer, Umisakura (NPO).
For Everyone Who Wants to Join
Join an LTO Cleanup!
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STEP 1
Borrow the gear!
Pick up a pair of tongs and a trash bag. Everyone is welcome to join.
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STEP 2
Pick up trash!
Help clean up around the stadium or arena. Enjoy it at your own pace.
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STEP 3
Get a stamp!
You get one stamp each time you join. Collect lots of them and aim to become a "Cleanup Master"!
Voices of Participants
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The whole family picking up trash
Out of all the trash, there are especially a lot of cans! (Big brother)
It was great to take part in LTO as a whole family and teach our kids how important volunteering is. (Mom) -
Become a Cleanup Master and get a prize!
I'm a supporter who comes all the way from Saitama, and I join LTO at every home game. I can't wait to see what we'll get this year!
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I had no idea the town and the ocean were connected!!
Picking up trash is fun ★
All together now: "Let's keep trash out of the ocean!"
There are oceans in trouble all across Japan!
Together with professional sports teams across Japan, under the slogan "Let's keep trash out of the ocean!",
we raise awareness for the ocean and work to make it better,
but across the country there are many oceans in trouble — short on hands, with trash piling up on the shore.
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Save Japan's Oceans in Trouble!
@ Amami Oshima, Myojinzaki
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Save Japan's Oceans in Trouble!
@ Okinawa, Kyan Beach
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Save Japan's Oceans in Trouble!
@ Saga, Hado Cape
Much of the ocean's trash was thrown away in town.
So let's start by cleaning up our streets!
Did you know that many of the cigarette filters and plastic bits found on the shore were thrown away in town and made their way to the sea?
When we all clean up the busy areas around stadiums and arenas, we can keep trash from reaching the ocean!
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Anime "Kaito-kun's Big Adventure!!"
Episode 1: "Where does ocean trash come from?"
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Anime "Kaito-kun's Big Adventure!!"
Episode 2: "Where does ocean trash go?"
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Why does trash from town end up in the ocean?
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How much plastic is there on the shore?
Organizer & Partner
[Organizer]
Umisakura (NPO) is a cleanup organization that has been holding beach cleanups at Enoshima, Kanagawa, for 20 years since 2005, under the motto "Aiming to be the most fun cleanup in Japan," bringing innovation to cleanup activities.
In addition to fun cleanups at Enoshima, it continues to value hands-on experience and keeps its activities "fun" and "enjoyable" — from the "Dosukoi Beach Cleanup" with active sumo wrestlers to the "Comedy Beach Cleanup" with comedians, and much more.
[Partner]
The ocean supports the lives of people in Japan in many ways, sometimes bringing peace of mind, excitement, and inspiration.
To help children and people across the country see the deteriorating state of that ocean as their own concern, and to spread a circle of action that passes the ocean on to the future, this is an all-Japan project led by The Nippon Foundation.
