Scientology Volunteer Cleanup Honors the Spiritual Tradition of Japan

More than 100 Volunteer Ministers of the Church of Scientology take part in a cleanup of Shinjuku, one of the busiest neighborhoods in Tokyo. 

Some 37 million people live in Tokyo—more than in any other city in the world. But cleanliness is a spiritual tradition in Japan according to Miyumi, an executive of the Tokyo Church of Scientology, in an episode of Destination Scientology on the Scientology Network. “For us, cleanliness comes first,” she says and describes it as an essential aspect of Japanese life. “That’s why Tokyo is known as the cleanest and safest city in the world,” she says.

 

On a recent weekend, Volunteer Ministers of the Tokyo Church of Scientology held a massive cleanup of the local neighborhood. Managers and staff of nearby restaurants, nightclubs and hotels joined them and plan to continue taking part in the initiative, which the volunteers hold each month.

“We think of others first,” says Miyumi in describing the ethos of the Japanese. “We have something called omotenashi, which defines our hospitality toward people. And one of the most important things for thousands of years has been our culture of wisdom. Scientology means ‘Knowing How to Know,’ and it is all about knowing yourself and knowing life. So we want to bring that wisdom to the people of Japan.”

The Scientology Volunteer Ministers program is a religious social service created in the mid-1970s by Scientology Founder L. Ron Hubbard. 

The Scientology Network launched in 2018 with a special episode featuring Scientology ecclesiastical leader Mr. David Miscavige. Since then, the network has been viewed in 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Satisfying the curiosity of people about Scientology, the network takes viewers across six continents, spotlighting the everyday lives of Scientologists, showing the Church as a global organization, and presenting its social betterment programs that have touched the lives of millions. The network also showcases documentaries by independent filmmakers who represent a cross-section of cultures and faiths and share a common purpose of uplifting communities.

Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church’s global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network can be streamed at Scientology.tv and is available through satellite television, mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.