Uchikura & Co., LLC

The Woman Behind the World's Cleanest Airport

When people visit Tokyo's Haneda Airport, one of the first things they notice is how incredibly clean it is. In fact, Haneda has repeatedly been recognized by Skytrax as the World's Cleanest Airport. While this achievement is the result of teamwork, one person has become the symbol of that success: Haruko Niitsu (新津春子, Chinese name: 姜春子).

 

Haruko Niitsu was born in Shenyang, China, as the daughter of a Japanese war orphan who remained in China after World War II. At the age of 17, she came to Japan, where she faced the challenges of learning a new language and adapting to a new culture. Rather than giving up, she chose to dedicate herself to a profession that many people overlook—cleaning.

 

Joining the company responsible for maintaining Haneda Airport, Niitsu devoted herself to mastering every aspect of her craft. She competed in Japan's national building cleaning competitions and earned top honors, eventually becoming recognized as an "Environmental Meister," a title reserved for the highest level of cleaning professionals.

 

Today, she supervises a team of approximately 500 cleaning professionals responsible for maintaining Haneda Airport's world-class standards. Under her leadership, cleanliness is treated not simply as a maintenance task, but as an essential part of the passenger experience.

 

Her expertise has also reached far beyond the airport. Niitsu has written and published numerous books in Japan on professional cleaning, workplace organization, and the philosophy behind maintaining clean environments. Through these books, she has inspired businesses, schools, and individuals to see cleaning not as a chore, but as a discipline that reflects pride, respect, and hospitality.

 

What makes her story truly inspiring is her philosophy. To Niitsu, cleaning is not simply about removing dirt. It is an act of kindness. Every polished floor, spotless restroom, and shining window is a way of welcoming travelers from around the world. She believes that people can feel the care and respect behind a clean environment, even if they never meet the person who cleaned it.

 

Her story is also a reminder that excellence has little to do with job titles. Whether someone is an executive, engineer, teacher, or cleaner, taking pride in one's work can transform an ordinary job into extraordinary craftsmanship.

 

Japan is often admired for its culture of omotenashi—hospitality—and Haruko Niitsu embodies that spirit. Her dedication has helped make Haneda Airport not only one of the busiest airports in the world, but also one of the most welcoming.

 

Perhaps the greatest lesson from her story is that leadership begins with mastering your own work. From a young immigrant struggling with the language to the leader of a 500-member cleaning team and the author of numerous bestselling books on cleaning and workplace excellence, Haruko Niitsu has shown that professionalism, humility, and pride in one's craft can inspire an entire organization—and impress millions of travelers from around the world.