Haruko's family moved to Japan when Haruko turned 17. Because Haruko could not speak any Japanese, she started her part-time job as a cleaner when she was still in high school. Now it has been 21 years.

As simple as her task may seem, Haruko’s skills in cleaning go beyond most people’s understanding of cleaning work. She can easily recite the usage of over 80 detergents and analyze the composition of a certain stain, as well as the best way to clean it up.

Haruko is very meticulous when it comes to her job. For example, the hand dryers are prone to developing an odor after they have been used several times. To combat that problem, Haruko is careful to clean along every crack and corner of the dryers. She never uses detergents with irritants to clean areas that children are able to reach.

Haruko is now in charge of managing a 700-person cleaning team at the airport. Occasionally she gets asked to help clean particularly stubborn stains in other public places. Haruko has also been invited on many TV programs and to give lectures in order to share her knowledge about cleaning. A book about Haruko’s life has been published. More and more people even come to the airport just to express their gratitude for all her hard work.