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Associated Press

This is how much of Japan wakes up. It is called Radio Taiso – Exercise Radio in English – a simple yet dynamic way to start the day.
Every morning at 6.30am, Japanese radio plays music accompanied by basic callisthenics instructions. Millions perform the movements in parks, workplaces, schools – and at home.
Radio Taiso has an almost 100-year history. It was formally introduced in 1928, coinciding with the enthronement of Emperor Hirohito. The tradition endures because the exercises are suitable for all ages and capabilities, and easily accessible.
We are talking about basic exercise movements: reach to the sky to limber up, twist at the torso, bend at the hips, swing the arms and get the shoulders loose, or jump or run in place.
Exercisers can make it as strenuous as they wish. It is over in just 10 minutes, all done to the rhythm of a soft piano melody.
The ritual is credited for promoting physical and social well-being in a country that has one of the highest life expectancies in the world.
If you are interested, you can find Radio Taiso routines on YouTube in English and in other languages.


Basic moves for everyone
There are about a dozen basic moves that can be done standing or seated. The idea is to keep moving. Though the programme runs early in the morning, many devotees repeat it on their own later in the day.
The routine features a trio of three-minute segments that get slightly more difficult – but not much. Most Radio Taiso followers know the sequences by heart, but beginners can join in and quickly pick up the routines. No equipment is needed.
The programme begins with arm exercises: lifting them, circling them and stretching them from side to side. It is followed by bending from the waist and twisting at the waist.
Shoulder raises are incorporated with a few mini-jumping exercises and marching-in-place moves. Along the way, you add in neck exercises, moves to stretch the chest and small squats for leg power.
Each movement is repeated four to eight times with instructions throughout to relax, breathe, and inhale and exhale slowly.


Time to socialise
Mieko Kobayashi is 88 and goes to Kiba Park – an expansive layout in the east Tokyo area – almost every day, where a large group gathers without fail.
“By moving my body, I feel better,” she says.
She and her 77-year-old friend, Yoshiko Nagao, say that some who go to the park daily live alone, and the workout is an important social anchor – particularly for the elderly.
“Laughing and chatting while taking a walk after [the exercise] is also good,” Nagao adds. “We come even on New Year’s Day.”
Kenji Iguchi is 83 – he would pass for 60 – and he has been a regular at the park for about 20 years.
“It’s for my joints, mainly the knees and back, because of my age,” Iguchi says.
“I get up at 5am anyway,” he adds. “I come to the park about 6am and do a round of walking ahead of the Radio Taiso session. Most of the faces are familiar, and coming here and getting together with them is also one of the things I look forward to.”

Japan has one of the world’s highest life expectancies, attributed to its diet, healthcare system and a lifestyle that encourages the elderly to be active.
The average life expectancy in Japan is about 85. By comparison, in the United States, average life expectancy is about 79. In Hong Kong, it is 88.4 years for women and 82.8 years for men.
The Japanese government announced late last year that 99,763 people in Japan were aged 100 or older, which set a new national record for the 55th consecutive year. That consisted of 87,784 females (88 per cent) and 11,979 males (12 per cent). Japan holds the record for the most centenarians relative to its population, which is about 122 million.
Roots in America
Radio Taiso was inspired a century ago by a similar radio programme in the United States sponsored by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. The Japan Radio Taiso Federation says officials of the Japanese postal ministry visited the United States in the 1920s and returned to Japan with the concept.
Within a decade, millions were taking part. The federation says the programme was led by postal workers who distributed pamphlets and organised training sessions.
Japan was under United States occupation after its defeat in 1945 in World War II, and the exercises were banned – largely because they were done in groups. The federation says the practice was seen as “totalitarian” with a possible air of militarism.
The group exercises were resumed in 1951, backed by popular demand as the American occupation ended in 1952.
According to a 2023 survey by the federation, more than 20 million people in Japan practised a Radio Taiso session at least once a week.
Radio Taiso has caught on in many countries abroad, most notably in Brazil, which has the largest population of people of Japanese descent living outside Japan.


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Wellness

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Lifestyle

Health & Wellness

Health

Over 20 million people in Japan practice a Radio Taiso session at least once a week in a country with one of the highest life expectancies


Over 20 million people in Japan practice a Radio Taiso session at least once a week in a country with one of the highest life expectancies.


The 10-minute morning exercise workout that millions of Japanese people wake up to do

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Over 20 million people in Japan practice a Radio Taiso session at least once a week in a country with one of the highest life expectancies

Over 20 million people in Japan practice a Radio Taiso session at least once a week in a country with one of the highest life expectancies