One of my tasks as an occupational doctor is the patrol of workplaces. Some of them are offices for paperwork, others are for manual labors. I usually patrol workplaces between 10 to 15:00 hours, but I did it early morning today, as I'd like to see how the morning meeting is in the manual labor workplaces. Their work hours are from 8 to 16:45 including 45 minutes' lunch break. Just at 8:00 o'clock, the radio gymnastics started. I'm not sure, but this gymnastics would be Japan's distinctive custom. The scene where I was was a crane manufacturing workshop and the leader gave a short briefing about the task of the day, then the attendees started brainstorming about possible accidents. I admired their efforts to avoid industrial injuries.
I don't remember when exactly, but 5 or 6 years ago, when I got on board the Diamond Princess, there was a gymnastics option in the tourist attraction early in the morning. During the exercises, the radio gymnastics abruptly started. Some Americans were surprised to see the Japanese do gymnastics in the same way, saying "Are all of you the same tour group?" No, Japanese people learn radio gymnastics during compulsory education. This might become a mark indicating that he/she has grown up in Japan.
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