Japan asks (and scans): Are you smiling enough?

Japanese railway workers are expected to be in a good mood when they report to work: So much so that managers at the Keihin Electric Express Railway are turning to "smile scanners" to ensure staffers are showing the proper amount of happiness.

This isn't Big Brother technology, with eyes in the sky looking down on workers unaware that they're being watched. It's actually a one-on-one system that subjects workers to a detailed smile analysis when they arrive at their shift, and it's fully automatic, without human intervention.

In use, the worker smiles then has his face scanned by the device. The worker is then given a numerical score from 0 to 100 rating the "estimated value of the fulfilled potential of a person's biggest smile."

If the smile isn't up to snuff, the machine offers advice on how to improve it, with specific instructions on how to shape the mouth into a more aesthetically pleasing grin. Once it's deemed acceptable, workers get a hard copy printout of their approved smile, which they are supposed to keep with them throughout the day to inspire continued happiness.

Sounds unusual? Don't fret for the Japanese train workers. Systems like this are actually rather commonplace, as managers use every means available at their disposal to improve customer service by the tiniest amount. In general, employees don't seem to mind.

How would you react? And while we're at it, how would you rate your smile today, on a 0 to 100 scale? I'm rockin' a 30 right about now.

Sorry, boss.