Photo= University women who are learning the beautiful way to walk from Tani, at right = Omron Healthcare Tokyo Office, Minato Ward, Tokyo

Omron Healthcare Co., Ltd. in Muko City, Kyoto Prefecture, and Wacoal Holdings Corp. launched "Joshi-ryoku Kojo Project," or a project to enhance girl power through improvement of women's postures. As physical beauty depends on one's good posture, they started their activities with a seminar in Tokyo to emphasize the importance of good posture.

In contrast to women's high interest in health and beauty, few are conscious of their own posture. Keeping this in mind, the two companies decided to launch this project to research and disseminate information about "walking posture, which is the basis of health and beauty."

To promote this project, both companies are making use of information that has been accumulated through their own products. For example, Wacoal provides their experience from their pursuit of shoes and stockings comfortable to walk in. Omron Heathcare utilizes their know-how from their walking position measuring device, which indicates the carrier's walking habits.

The seminar theme that day was "ob-hunting and Posture," in which three job-hunting university undergraduate women from the Tokyo metropolitan area participated. The seminar introduced the results of the questionnaire directed at interviewers of both companies. Of the 97%, who answered "appearance counts," 56% emphasized "sitting posture" and 43% "posture at the time of walking into the room." Then the seminar proposed posture to make a favorable impression on interviewers. The seminar also presented the research result that women with an elegant manner of walking can maintain their posture even during a long interview. Eiko Tani, a guest walking instructor advised, "Japanese walk with low center of gravity. You should walk using your waist."

The two companies will push forward their efforts and research to improve posture with assistance from academics and others. The next seminar will be held in summer.