The way Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Japan — initially beginning as a day for women to offer boxes of chocolates to men they have feelings for — is evolving with the rising prices of cocoa and changes in customs.
For one, fewer people are handing out chocolates to others at work, which had been a widespread practice over the past few decades. Known as giri choko, which roughly translates as “courtesy chocolate” to differentiate it from chocolate given to someone special, female workers would gift their male co-workers and bosses with sweets as a way to express their daily gratitude in accordance with the celebration.
However, fewer are feeling inclined to partake in the custom. According to a recent survey in January from major insurance company Nippon Life Insurance, only 12.5% of respondents said they plan to give anything to coworkers on Valentine’s Day. In the prepandemic era in 2020, for example, it was at 23.7%.
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