Radio Made the Exercise Star

Reconnecting with an almost century-long radio tradition

Last month I wrote about returning to the bon odori, the traditional dance festival, after a long absence. But a few days ago, I stumbled across another major tradition that I realized I’d spent even more time away from. It’s called “Rajio Taiso,”literally Radio Exercise, and it is the single best-known exercise program in all of Japan. It is broadcast at 6:30 sharp every morning on NHK’s radio station. Like many Japanese I’d done it (or more accurately been made to do it) in school as a child, and after graduating I’d forgotten about it for many, many years. But my unexpected re-engagement with Rajio Taiso made me realize that it’s actually a very interesting and unique confluence of Japanese history, tradition, and pop culture. 

Let me set the stage. At least once a year for 30 years, I’ve flown from Tokyo to Washington D.C. with my husband to visit my in-laws. The flight is thirteen hours long. And no matter how many pillows I use, I can never get comfortable. When I was young, I only really worried about lack of sleep. But as I’ve grown older, I’ve found the flight even harder to take – especially for my back.

We returned from one such trip a few weeks ago, collapsing exhausted, as always, into our familiar Tokyo beds to recharge. But when I woke up the next morning, the aches and pains from the flight hadn’t gone away. I rolled over and over, hoping they might magically disappear, but no luck. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer. It was much earlier in the morning than we usually get up, even jetlagged, but as it happened my husband was awake, too. Desperate for relief, I proposed that we take a dawn walk in the local park. And so we did.

This was the first time I’d ever walked the neighborhood so early. I thought we might have the streets to ourselves. But then a jogger, perhaps in his thirties, passed us. Then another man, late middle-aged, sped by on a speed-walk. It made sense – it’s no fun to run during the day in a Tokyo summer – but I was impressed nevertheless.

But when we arrived at the park, my jaw almost dropped. The place was positively packed! I wouldn’t say crowded, but definitely more populated than the average time I’ve gone through during the day or evening. Many of them were in sports gear, and quite a few seemed to be in their 70s or even 80s. There were young folks there, too, but they were in the minority. I could imagine why. I sure didn’t want to be up at 5:30 in the morning when I was in my thirties, but for whatever reason – work schedule? Health scare? Fitness focused? – here they were.

Some ran, some jogged, some walked. But everyone was in constant motion, like molecules,  like the water flowing into and out of the pond. Occasionally I heard some friendly morning greetings, but in general the atmosphere was hushed, even quiet. It was early morning, after all. And so we joined in this silent “rush hour” of exercisers on the path that circled the pond. 

Midway around, something strange happened. The people around us suddenly stopped. I mean everyone. Even a little brown toy poodle, which sat down when its owner stopped walking. It almost felt as though someone had snapped their fingers to stop time. Almost: it wasn’t that people froze, exactly. They continued moving, walking in place or stretching, but in a single spot, almost like an NPC in a video game on a loop. 

Slightly confused, we also stopped and looked around. I could see the same thing happening on the opposite side of the pond, too! What’s going on? I was about to ask my husband. But then I began hearing a song. Bright and vibrant, but a little scratchy, for it was coming over numerous transistor radio speakers — radios carried by many in the park, it seemed. A new morning has come! A morning filled with with hope! 

I knew this song. You might know it as well – they used it in the GANTZ comics and movies, when the characters are sent on a mission to fight aliens on the streets of the city. My husband, who only knew it from this context, started laughing. So did I, for a different reason. It was the theme song to Rajio Taiso! There weren’t any aliens on the way – just calisthenics.

Rajio Taiso’s origins go back to 1928, when the medium of radio was very new and cutting edge in Japan. It was inspired by similar American radio calisthenics programs. The show continued until World War II, when it was suspended. NHK revived the show soon after the war, but within a year, it was canceled again. The American occupying forces felt that the sight of large numbers of people following directions through the radio felt “too militaristic,” even if it was just for exercise. But as more and more Japanese became interested in sports and fitness in the postwar era, the show made yet another comeback with occupation’s end. In 1951, NHK launched an updated version with a piano accompaniment. The now-familiar theme song debuted a few years after that. Described as “quick and easy exercise for everyone of any age,” the show proved incredibly popular. It remains so to this day.

Raijo Taiso consists of two parts, each of which lasts for three minutes of gentle exercises. They’re designed to be performed either standing, or seated. A great many organizations, including schools, nursing homes, and even some companies, incorporated the show into their daily routines. When I was in elementary school, for example, the students did Rajio Taiso every morning. Every day at 8:30 sharp, we’d line up outdoors on the field, following the teachers as we all did the exercises. But this stopped once I graduated. My junior and senior high schools didn’t mandate it, and so I never did it again. To be brutally honest, I’d all but forgotten about it until a few days ago.

It isn’t anywhere nearly as common for companies to do calisthenics as it was in the postwar era, yet nearly every Japanese knows what Rajio Taiso is, even if they don’t participate themselves. I mentioned it to my next-door neighbor, who is over 70 now. She laughed and told me how much she’d hated doing it when she was a little girl, decades ago. During summer breaks, her school made students get up early and come to the school to do the exercises, even though there weren’t any classes. That was typical for schoolkids in the 1950s and 1960s. Out of curiosity, I asked my fourteen year old niece if her school does Rajio Taiso. It turns out that they do – her junior high school plays a recording as a quick warm-up for P.E. classes. So this exercise culture continues to be passed down today. This explains why references to Rajio Taiso show up in all sorts of pop culture. I mentioned GANTZ above, but there’s also a Rajio Taiso-like feature in Nintendo’s Animal Crossing. The music is different (perhaps due to copyright issues), but the concept is the same: players can join in a group exercise routine with their characters, with movements just like Rajio Taiso.

The beauty of Rajio Taiso is how low the hurdle is for participation. It’s like bon odori in this sense, but even lower. Anybody can hop in and exercise on the spot, and it’s very short. Before you can get too tired, the “work” is already done. 

And that is exactly what happened in the park that morning. My husband and I looked at each other, smiled, and joined in. Even if you’ve never done it before, all you need to do is situate yourself behind someone who does and copy their moves. Some of those old folks were real pros! Six minutes later, the exercises were done – and you know what? It felt great! My backache eased up, and I felt a lot better for having stretched. 

The moment the music stopped, the people in the park clicked off their radios and began walking around, that natural motion filling the paths once again. Even the poodle jumped up and started asking its owner for a treat for having sat so patiently. It was as though nothing had happened – if you’d shown up at this moment, you’d never have known the whole park had been exercising just a few minutes before!

If you’re in Japan, and want to try Rajio Taiso yourself, it’s easy! Just find a local park or town square sort of place, and be there a little before 6:30am when the broadcast starts. Chances are, you’ll find someone with a radio, getting ready to do their exercises. Just watch them and copy their moves. And don’t worry about seeming weird – that’s exactly how everyone learns Rajio Taiso!