The health benefits or gargling?

K, so I have been meaning to ask this for a while…

In Japan, to promote staying healthy, they tell you to wash your hands and gargle water. There are signs all over school for it (though to be fair, there are signs all over school for EVERYTHING, from “wear a bike helmet!” to “save your money!”). I understand the need to wash your hands (even though the Japanese soap-in-the-net thing is a bit sketchy to me), but does gargling actually have any health benefits? The only time I ever think to gargle is with salt water if I have a sore throat. Does gargling water actually get rid of germs? What is the apparent point of doing so, and does it actually work? I need to know, people! Feel free to leave a comment.