Morning Assembly Day

What Is Morning Assembly Day?

October 10th is "Morning Assembly Day" (Chorei no Hi) in Japan. The date comes from a wordplay breaking down the kanji for "morning" (十+月+十+日) and "bow/greeting" (一礼一礼 = 1+0+1+0). It was established by Comminike Publishing Co. and officially recognized by the Japan Anniversary Association in 2014.

A Holiday to Reconsider How the Workday Begins

Morning assemblies are a routine practice at many Japanese companies, though their significance is often taken for granted.

• Origin: a playful wordplay breaking down the kanji characters for "morning" and "bow" into numbers
• Purpose: to energize corporate morning assemblies and raise the quality of employees' work mindset, motivation, courtesy, and manners
• The role of morning assembly: functions not just to share information, but also to deepen communication among coworkers

Rethinking a Ritual That Can Become Routine

Morning assemblies, which can easily fall into mindless routine, can boost employee motivation and strengthen teamwork when their content and format are thoughtfully designed. Morning Assembly Day is an opportunity to reconsider how they're run.

Tips for Marking This Day

• Reflect on the content and format of your own workplace's morning assembly
• Give your morning greeting and bow a bit more care than usual
• Think of ideas to energize your morning assembly
• Pay closer attention to how you start each day

How You Begin the Day Shapes the Quality of the Whole Day

The brief greeting and bow exchanged each morning carry the power to set a positive tone for the whole day. October 10th is a day to take a fresh look at the everyday habit of morning assembly.