Cosplay de UMIGOMI Zero Challenge!Roughly 300 people participate in trash collection activity to raise awareness of ocean debris

Cosplay de UMIGOMI Zero Challenge 2026 in Ikebukuro was held on May 30 at Higashi-Ikebukuro Central Park in Toshima, Tokyo. Ikebukuro is a popular business and entertainment area around Ikebukuro Station, one of Tokyo’s busiest public transportation hubs.

The event marked the kickoff of UMIGOMI Zero Week 2026, a nationwide cleanup campaign to reduce ocean debris, and was organized by the World Cosplay Cultural Development Association with roughly 300 people participating, including cosplayers (people dressing as their favorite characters from anime films, manga comics, video games, etc.), the general public, and representatives of cooperating companies and organizations. The opening ceremony, which included Japan’s Minister of the Environment Hirotaka Ishihara, Toshima City Mayor Miyuki Takagiwa, Japan Coast Guard Vice Commandant Kenta Sakamaki, and representatives of cooperating companies and organizations, helped to raise awareness of the issue of ocean debris and encourage action to protect the environment. The McDonald’s restaurant chain’s mascot Ronald McDonald was also present, adding to the liveliness of the event.

After the opening ceremony, participants headed out to pick up trash in the surrounding area. The trash collected in one hour filled 42 45-liter trash bags and included cigarette butts and plastic containers and bottles, showing once again how much trash is discarded in public areas. Some of this trash will be washed by the rain through gutters and rivers into the ocean, creating ocean debris. This brought home to participants the importance of not littering or discarding trash in their daily lives.

Stage events held in the afternoon included a cosplayer runway show and photo session, and discussions about participants’ thoughts after having collected the trash. This combination of cleanup event and dissemination of cosplay culture provided an opportunity for participants to enjoy themselves while thinking about environmental issues, and helped to spread interest in the problem of ocean debris to a wider audience beyond Ikebukuro.