When is Health and Sports Day?
Japan celebrate Health and Sports Day ('Taiiku no Hi') on the second Monday in October.
The aim is to promote sports and an active lifestyle to ensure a healthy mind and body.
History of Health and Sports Day
This holiday was first observed in 1966 and marked the opening day of the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.
To commemorate the first-ever Olympic games to take place in Asia, October 10th each year was made a national holiday.
In 2000, the implementation of the 'Happy Monday' system for public holidays in Japan saw this holiday move to its current date.
Did you know?
October is an unusually late time to hold the Summer Olympics, but was chosen to avoid the Japanese rainy season
In celebration of this holiday, many Japanese schools, business and towns hold special Sports Day events including the three-legged race, beanbag toss, and tug-of-war. ‘O-tama’ is also traditionally played. In this unique event, a very large ball is rolled in a relay race.
Museums that normally close on Mondays might stay open on Health Sports Day and close the following day (Tuesday).
The importance of an active lifestyle is recognised in Japan. A survey by the Japan Sports Agency in 2019 showed that the proportion of people who do exercise or sports once a week or more is over 70% among most elderly age groups.
