世論 What Japan Thinks

Continuing my occasional theme of FAIL, this time it is a look at what White Day present-related regrets women have, courtesy as usual of goo Ranking.

Demographics

Between the 22nd and 26th of January 2009 1,071 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private online questionnaire. 51.8% of the sample were male, 6.9% in their teens, 14.3% in their twenties, 28.9% in their thirties, 27.8% in their forties, 11.3% in their fifties, and 10.8% aged sixty or older. Note that the score in the results refers to the relative number of votes for each option, not a percentage of the total sample. This question was for the women only.

In Japan, on Valentine’s Day women give men chocolates or other gifts, and on White Day, the 14th of March, men return the favour. This list of FAILs seem to be more from the obligatory gift-giving side, where women give male co-workers something on Valentine’s Day, then they return a no-strings-attached (in theory…) gift on White Day. The day is also an excuse for men to declare their secret infatuation, with answers like 7 and 8 coming from such experiences, one suspects.

Ranking result

Q: What is your White Day return gift FAIL experience? (Sample size=516, women)

Rank		Score
1	Getting something obviously cheaper than the gift I gave	100
2	Naff handkerchief, towel	90.8
3	Getting a single big box of sweeties for all the women to share	63.2
4	Naff accessory	58.6
5	Obscure character item	51.7
6	Sweets looking like they were just bought five minutes ago	47.1
7	Underwear	41.4
8	Getting a letter along with a gift from a guy I don’t like	39.1
9	Being passed an unwrapped present	36.8
10=	Cuddly toy	35.6
10=	Chocolates of an obscure brand	35.6
12	Male-oriented CD	29.9
13	Perfume	27.6
14	Joke chocolates	25.3
15	Flowers	19.5
16	Lipstick	17.2
17	Buying me a drink in the pub	16.1
18	Handmade sweets	14.9
19	Too expensive chocolates	13.8
20	Alcohol	11.5