A group of students at Japan's Nippon Sports Science University have taken walking to a whole new level.
Some 11,000 people gathered at the university yesterday to witness "Shudankodo " (collective action) which has gained massive popularity after a YouTube video went viral last year. But Nippon Sports Science University says the activity is nothing new, and that they've been doing it since 1966.
It took the 77 students five months - at three days per week - of exercise to get them in shape for the performances. The practice drills saw them walking up to 1,200km.
Keiko Suzuki (23), the captain of the team, said she hoped their collective discipline would help improve perception of young people in Japan.
“People say Japanese youngsters these days lacks the ability to work collectively in group, but we just proved that we don’t,” she said.
Suzuki also said the training could help the students when it came to looking for jobs.
“We all mastered this highly disciplined training and made it our habit to stick to strict rules. I believe this experience will be an asset as we enter into the job market,” she said.
Reuters