New Fitness Standards in Japan

Japan announced yesterday its plan for annual testing of the of all elementary 5th graders and 2nd-year middle schoolers. They will test over two million students in eight categories, including sit-ups, broad jump, sprints and longer distance running, and ball throwing.

Test results will be announced every December after calculating the average of each municipality. The ministry will also study correlations between daily habit and physical fitness test results. The results are going to be announced which will likely create fierce competition amongst Japanese schools.

Certainly, this would seem to be a little more than is necessary, particularly in Japan which already has an ultra intense competition among young people academically. Still, focusing on the body and not just the mind seems to be a productive thing. If you are using obesity as a gauge, the Japanese are killing us in the overall fitness of their children.