世論 What Japan Thinks

Yesterday we looked at St Valentine’s Day in Japan; today we’ll move on to White Day. Last year, MyVoice surveyed 13,295 members (5,573 or 42% male) of their internet community to find out what they thought of the uniquely Japanese White Day. The age breakdown for this survey was 5% in their teens, 23% in their twenties, 39% in their thirties, 22% in their forties, and 11% aged fifty and over.

White Day is a uniquely Japanese event, as far as I am aware. After Valentine’s Day ended up as a day for only women to give presents for men, in order to redress the balance, and of course increase sales of chocolates, White Day was dreamed up, the chance for men to buy a present, usually white chocolate, thus the name, in return for any they may have received the month before.

Q1: On White Day this year, how many people did you send presents to (for females, receive presents from)? (Sample size=13,295)

No-one	43%
One person	26%
Two or three people	22%
Four or five people	6%
Six to ten people	2%
11 to 20 people	1%
21 or more people	0%

Sadly, they don’t have a breakdown by sex as they did for the Valentine’s Day presents.

Q2: Which of the following occured on White Day? (Sample size=13,295, multiple answer)

Received present	30%
Sent present	27%
Ate out, went to party, etc	5%
It wasn’t a return gift for Valentine’s Day, but received a present	2%
It wasn’t a return gift for Valentine’s Day, but sent a present	2%
Bought myself White Day chocolates	2%
Other	1%
Nothing in particular	40%
No answer	0.4%

Q3: To whom did you send a White Day present? (Sample size=those who sent presents, perhaps 13,295 * 27%=3,589 approximately, multiple answer)

Spouse	29%
Female colleagues, boss, or underlings	16%
Lover or someone I fancy	14%
Female friends or other associates, etc	10%
Daughter	7%
Mother	4%
Male colleagues, boss, or underlings	4%
Father, step-father	2%
Sister	2%
Male friends or other associates, etc	2%
Brother	1%
Other	3%
No answer	38%

I am unsure why there is a very high No answer result here. I don’t know if this is due to a reluctance to answer, a mistake by the question-taker, or an error during the compiling of the results. The same concern applies to the following question.

Q4: In total, how much did you spend on White Day presents? (Sample size=those who sent presents, perhaps 13,295 * 27%=3,589 approximately)

Less than 500 yen	5%
500 to 1000 yen	13%
1000 to 2000 yen	13%
2000 to 3000 yen	9%
3000 to 5000 yen	9%
5000 to 10,000 yen	7%
10,000 to 20,000 yen	3%
Over 20,000 yen	2%
No answer	40%

Q5: When did you buy your White Day presents? (Sample size=those who sent presents, perhaps 13,295 * 27%=3,589 approximately, multiple answers)

January	1%
Early February	4%
Mid February	3%
Late February	4%
March 1st to 4th	5%
March 5th or 6th	4%
March 7th to 10th	8%
March 11th	2%
March 12th	6%
March 13th	10%
March 14th	9%
March 15th or later	3%
Other	1%
No answer	45%

Q6: Select from the following the terms that describe your feelings towards White Day. (Sample size=13,295, multiple answer)

Not needed	27%
No interest	23%
Needed	23%
Happy	17%
Troublesome	15%
Fun	15%
Excited!	10%
Important	7%
Interested	4%
A problem	3%
Depressing	2%
Unpleasant	1%
Other	3%
No answer	3%