Love Button’s Impact in Tokyo

A Clean River and a Nourished Community in Tokyo

Love Button worked with Tokyo River Friends and Second Harvest Japan while in Tokyo on our world tour with Coldplay. Both organizations are working tirelessly to create a better home for all of Japan, and we’re honored we got to play a small part in their mission for a day.

Cleaning With Tokyo River Friends

Tokyo River Friends has been cleaning the banks of the Arakawa and Edogawa rivers since 2017. With the population of Tokyo being over 37 million people, the largest city in the world, you can imagine the amount of waste the city produces.

The amount of trash on the river banks was a tough pill to swallow. To put it simply, it was disgusting. Over the 5 years Tokyo River Friends has been operating, they have been able to collect 4,000 bags of trash, which is all disposed of through the proper channels. The founder, James Gibbs, believes that even a small dent in the issue creates a better home for the people of Tokyo. He envisions one day that the city will be able to enjoy the river banks with their families and friends.

Our volunteers spent 4 hours at the Arakawa river. With a goal of collecting 200 bags of trash, we were able to fill 203! Tires, soccer balls, bottles, motorcycle helmets – the variety of items collected was mind-boggling. The transformation of the area we cleaned was night and day. Although there is still miles and miles of cleaning to do, we were able to put a big dent in Tokyo River Friend’s overall goal.

Providing Meals With Second Harvest Japan

Second Harvest Japan is the nation’s first and largest food bank. They’re well on their way to creating a food safety net for all of Japan. The food safety net will allow anyone to access food when they need it and anyone means anyone. Second Harvest does not have any requirements – if you need food they will provide it for you. In 2022 alone, Second Harvest was able to provide 2,929,863 meals to families and individuals struggling with hunger! They provide these services through their Food Bank, Harvest Kitchen and Harvest Pantry, all of which are run by volunteers. The number of hours volunteers donated in 2022 – 24,649!

Love Button volunteers were honored to be able to add to that incredible number. Being mid-week, deliveries were in full swing for Second Harvest – many of which come from large corporations. Nightly, they open the pantry to the city and anyone can come and shop for what they need, free of charge. Our volunteers helped sort and prepare the pantry for the evening. In total, Second Harvest has anywhere from 200-500 people a night come through the pantry. Another country where we were able to make a difference in the battle against food insecurity.

Follow the rest of our journey on our World Tour page!