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I remember standing on the school playing field two and a half years ago, waiting for Sports Day to begin. It was my second week in the job, and I didn’t really know what was going to happen.
After a brief greeting by the headmaster, it was announced that we would warm up. The students arranged into perfect lines and the teachers filed onto the field and stood in a long line, facing the students. I was ushered into this line too. Someone turned on a CD and aerobic music started playing, with a Japanese commentary that was too fast for me to understand. And suddenly, at exactly the same time, everyone started doing warm up exercises. Quite apart from the uniformity of 600 people’s movements, what surprised me the most was that every single person knew exactly what to do, even though there was nobody to follow.
This was my first experience of Rajio Taiso, or Radio Calisthenics. After speaking to colleagues and friends, I learned that Rajio Taiso, a 15 minute programme of simple exercises, dates back to the 1920s. It is broadcast on national radio every morning at 6:30, and many people gather in parks to do the exercises together. According to the Japan Times, 20% of Japanese people take part in the exercises.
I began to see Rajio Taiso in other places too. On my morning train ride to my visiting school, I used to pass an office with large windows and I noticed that they would always be doing Rajio Taiso together before work.
As well as a universally known way to warm up for sporting events, you might see people doing Radio Taiso in parks, in offices, even at festivals!
So the next time you think about reaching for coffee to give you some energy, do as the Japanese and indulge in some Rajio Taiso instead!