On February 14 of this year, is Japan's "compulsory chocolate" culture phasing out the "compulsory chocolate" of colleagues?
Although this is the first Valentine's Day since Japan downgraded the coronavirus to Level 5 (on par with seasonal flu) under the Infectious Disease Control Law, the percentage of chocolates given away is still lower than before the pandemic.
The survey, which was conducted from January 17 to 22 by Laibo, a Tokyo-based career consulting company, involved 521 people between the ages of 20 and 50.
Those who do not give account for 893%, far more than the giver accounts for the remaining 107%。By gender, 105% of men and 115% of women said they would give gifts on a voluntary basis this year.
In 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, respectively9% and 48%。While this percentage has risen this year, it is still 3 percent lower than in 2019 before the pandemic7 percentage points.
Reasons for not distributing mandatory sweets include cost and the time and effort required, with nearly 40% of respondents choosing both. About 80% of respondents believe that spending*** has affected them and reduced their motivation to give and receive gifts.
About 70% of men said they didn't want to receive Valentine's Day gifts, and about 60% of men chose "I don't want them to spend money" and "Rebates will cost money", respectively, suggesting that financial burden is a major concern for both givers and recipients.
"On the one hand, the pandemic is over and workers are returning to the office, but in addition to ***, more and more people are hesitant to give chocolates and give back chocolates, fearing that it will lead to harassment," said Masaichi Hori, head of strategy at Laibo Communications. "I think the decline of the 'girly chocolate' culture will continue. ”