As the old saying goes, "Time is money" — and each June 10 helps Japan remember that.

The date, known as "toki no kinenbi"(the anniversary of time), commemorates what is believed to be Japan's introduction of standard time on June 10, 671, when the nation's first water clock based on Chinese technology was put into use by Emperor Tenji (626-672).

During the Taisho Era push to catch up with the West and improve the quality of life, the government in 1920 designated June 10 as the anniversary of the monumental shift that helped make Japanese some of the most punctual people in the world.