Japan's Valentine's Day Reversal

In the 1950s, the Japanese chocolate company Morozoff introduced Valentine's Day marketing in Japan, borrowing the Western custom of gifting sweets. According to tradition, the executive translating the campaign misunderstood the Western norm of men giving chocolate to women and reversed who should receive gifts. As a result, women in Japan began giving chocolate to men (honmei choco for loved ones, giri choco for colleagues). Over time, that mistranslation became ingrained, and today, February 14 remains a day when many women purchase chocolate for men across Japan.

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