JAPAN, It is probably a fact that the popolarization of jajiten in Westera coan-tries has produced somewhat ed ideas of the physi fairly common practice of Japanese youths to rise, daring the month of December, at three in the morning in order to fence and wrestle, With the introduction of new standards of living this good old custom hes lapsed; and while boating, liwo tennis and baseball are indulged in by students and others, the physical development of the nation begins to be called in question, Thas Mr. Kano, President of the Higher Normal School in Tokio, in an interview given to the "iii Shimpo," expressed doubts ax to whether Japanese physique had indeed improved in recent years, as generally believed. Among new recruits for the army it is found that, while stature has increased slightly, weight has shown some decrease. The regulation height, it may be remarked medical corps is 5ft. 1in.; i rt service Sft, grade 5 ft.
in 1907 only 161,000 conscripts out of 414,000 qualified for the Intter grade. Undoubtedly physical culture is widely practised in Japanese bat, Mr. Kano pointe out, this misleading, first because the schools only represent s section of the nation, secondly because athletics, especially of a competitive kind, tend toprodace a limited number of unusually fine specimens at the expense of the many, who become mere spectators. In considering the case of the whole nation it is found that increased facilities of oon-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.