Japan: Ten‑Minute Morning Assembly with Team Chants

Ten‑Minute Morning Assembly with Team Chants, Japan

Context: Japan’s Daily Chōrei

In some customer‑facing service and manufacturing settings in Japan, companies begin the day with a swift standing meeting called chōrei (“morning assembly”), while many white‑collar offices do not use it or use quieter variants. Leaders recap priorities, recite values aloud, and synchronise the workforce in ten minutes or less. Some practitioners describe the ritual as reinforcing wa (collective harmony), while others emphasize coordination and readiness rather than uniformity. Teppen, a Tokyo izakaya (Japanese pub) founded in 2004, re‑engineered that tradition in dialogue with school assemblies and postwar company exercises such as rajio taisō, while dialing the energy up for a hospitality context. *

Meet Teppen

Teppen’s origin story starts with chef-turned-entrepreneur Keisuke Oshima. After seven years of apprenticing in a rival izakaya chain, Oshima decided he wanted more than tasty yakitori—he wanted to run a place that felt like climbing to the top of a mountain with friends. In 2004 he opened a 24‑seat robatayaki (fireside grill) in Nakameguro and christened it “Teppen,” literally “the summit.” *

From day one the tiny basement venue pulsed with Oshima’s conviction that hospitality is theatre. Servers were cast members, the counter grill a stage, and every guest an audience member who should leave buzzing with waku-waku (child-like excitement). To make that energy reproducible, Oshima borrowed the corporate chōrei he had experienced as a junior employee and adapted it with call‑and‑response greetings such as “irasshaimase” (“welcome”), brief personal shares, and coordinated gestures appropriate to hospitality work.

Word spread quickly. Within three years Teppen was attracting food journalists and managers from other industries, and thousands of outsiders had observed the pre‑shift huddle to study its design. * The spectacle translated into full tables, which funded a string of off‑shoots that included gendered branding such as Onna Dōjō (“women’s dojo”) and Otoko Dōjō (“men’s dojo”), and readers adapting similar programs should use inclusive naming and participation.

Growth never diluted the intimacy of the ritual. Oshima codified Honki no Chōrei (“earnest morning assembly”) into a training manual: new hires may practise call‑and‑response drills, learn the signature “Ii ne” (“that’s good”) thumbs‑up gesture, and optionally craft a one‑minute speech about the person they most want to make proud. By the time they hit the floor, many team members report greater comfort greeting guests and speaking up, while opt‑out paths are respected.

Today Teppen is still modest in size, with fewer than 15 locations in Japan and Southeast Asia, but gargantuan in influence. Leadership workshops, MBA case studies, and YouTube documentaries often present it as one approach to engagement, while some workers and HR practitioners prefer quieter practices or choose not to use chōrei at all. Thousands of visitors have observed Honki no Chōrei in person, turning a neighbourhood pub into a leadership case study. *

Honki no Chōrei — Step-by-Step

Minute	Activity	Purpose
0–1	Silent meditation	Centering; leave personal worries behind
1–3	Full-throated greeting drill (“Irasshaimase!”)	Vocal warm-up; shared energy
3–6	Call-and-response chants	Encode company values; unified rhythm
6–8	One-minute speeches – personal goals & gratitude	Psychological safety; public-speaking reps
8–10	Visualization & group cheer (“Ii ne!” thumbs-up)	Mental rehearsal; commit to service excellence

Why It Works — The Cultural Physics Behind the Noise

Honki no Chōrei succeeds because it converts abstract ideals into embodied habits. Shouting core values conditions muscles and vocal cords to remember them; synchronised breathing and movement can increase feelings of connection and coordination, supporting cohesion on a shift. At the same time the ritual offers a micro‑arena for voluntary sharing: a 60‑second speech about a loved one or a personal goal can help people feel known, while psychological safety primarily depends on leader behaviors such as inviting input and responding appreciatively.

Equally important is public commitment. When a line cook declares, “Tonight I will become the world’s best farm-to-table ambassador,” 15 peers become accountability partners. The atmosphere often feels energized for both staff and arriving diners without requiring everyone to display the same level of outward enthusiasm. In short, Teppen turns motivation from an internal mood into a shared kinetic event, one that reproduces itself daily without management’s constant supervision.

Results & Reach

The payoff is visible on three fronts. Customer experience first: online reviews often mention warm greetings and memorable energy, and internal spot‑checks have noted consistent greeting quality without making industry‑wide comparisons. Talent metrics follow suit; despite long hours typical of izakaya work, leadership reports lower internal turnover compared with prior years and credits the daily ritual among several factors rather than any biochemical effect. Finally, brand gravity: media coverage in The Japan Times attracted a steady stream of executives, and company materials report substantial numbers of chōrei observers and licensed training seminars from Sapporo to Singapore. In effect, a ten-minute ritual turned a small pub into a thought-leadership export.

Lessons for Global Team Leaders

Principle	Why It Matters	How to Translate
Daily cadence	Habits beat off-sites; repetition hard-wires culture	Start with a weekly “micro-chōrei” if daily feels too bold
Whole-person share	Stories of loved ones build empathy & trust	Prompt volunteers to share a personal win or challenge
Embodied enthusiasm	Voice + gesture elevate emotion	Encourage physicality—high-fives, applause, stretch
Public commitment	Saying goals aloud raises accountability	Let each member declare a key deliverable for the day
Time-boxing	Energy peaks when meetings are short	Cap yours at 10 minutes; use a visible timer

Implementation Playbook

Set the stage. Clear a space where up to 12–15 people can gather in a circle or on video, with seated options, gesture‑only participation, and a posted decibel cap.
Craft a 5‑line chant that echoes your core values and provide a quiet or gesture‑only alternative with no required touch.
Assign an accountable owner for facilitation, communications, and data, and rotate the MC role among participants. Publish a one‑page brief that covers purpose, voluntary participation and opt‑out, paid‑time scheduling, data privacy and retention, and credit to Japanese chōrei/Teppen origins.
Run a 6–8 week pilot with 2–4 teams meeting two to three times per week, collect an anonymous opt‑in pulse after sessions with minimal data and 30–60 day retention, review plans with HR/Legal, and estimate time x loaded cost per participant for decision‑making.
Iterate volume & vibe to fit local norms—clapping over shouting may suit quieter cultures.

Common Pitfalls

Going through motions. Passionless chanting can feel inauthentic, and leadership should model appropriate enthusiasm while making participation voluntary and opt‑outs socially safe.
Skipping reflection. Without periodic review the ritual can drift into theatrics detached from purpose, so link the practice to clear metrics such as smoother handoffs, error‑free openings, or cross‑team assists per week.

Reflection & Call to Action

Ritual is strategy in disguise. Honki no Chōrei shows that a long‑standing Japanese practice can be adapted with explicit credit to its origins and with attention to consent, accessibility, and on‑the‑clock scheduling. Try a small‑scale experiment next Monday on paid time: two minutes of silent focus, an optional low‑volume or gesture‑only collective cue, and clear permission to pass. Measure the mood shift with a short anonymous pulse and track one relevant team outcome such as first‑response time, handoff defects, or order accuracy in the next sprint.

“The spirit we ignite in those ten minutes carries us until the last dish is washed,” said a Teppen manager, quoted with permission and anonymity requested.