Giri choco

On Valentine's Day in Japan, giri choco is inexpensive chocolate that women give to male co-workers and friends to show appreciation and respect as opposed to honmei choco, chocolate that is given to romantic partners.[1] While Japan has a strong gift-giving culture,[1] the origins of giving chocolate on Valentine's Day is unclear.[2] One popular explanation is that the trend was started by junior high school girls, who would give handmade chocolate to boys to see if they returned their affections,[3] and it later became commercialized in the mid-1950s,[4] with the first Valentine's sale taking place in 1958 at Mary Chocolate.[2]

Harumichi Yamada from Tokyo Keizai University stated that the practice of giving chocolate occurred because women expressing their love to men was considered disgraceful, and confectioneries capitalized on chocolate as a way for them to profess their love; however, as the social status of women improved, Valentine's Day was later considered a day where women give chocolate to men, through which the giri choco custom emerged.[5] Sachiko Horiguchi from Temple University, Japan Campus suggested that the giri choco custom first occurred in the 1980s where working women were obligated to give chocolate to their co-workers and bosses, as both of the Japanese corporate and gift-giving cultures made it appropriate for this exchange to take place.[6]

Japanese chocolate confectioneries make 70% of their business through Valentine's Day annually.[1] The Chocolate & Cocoa Association of Japan reported that, in 2005, approximately US$400,000,000 (equivalent to $523,632,646 in 2019) was spent on Valentine's Day chocolates.[2] The average woman spent US$36 (equivalent to $44.39 in 2019) on giri choco in 2007,[2] while it dropped to ¥1,033 in 2019.[7]

In the 1980s, White Day began as a tradition where men would reciprocate giri choco gifts in order to boost sales.[4] White Day gift sales are heavily influenced by sales from Valentine's Day.[8][9]

The tradition of giving giri choco is losing popularity in Japan beginning in the late 2010s and is criticized for pressuring women to buy chocolate for their co-workers to avoid offending them.[1][4] Some companies have banned the practice, citing it as power harassment.[4] Instead, women opt to give friendship chocolate (友チョコ, tomo choco) to their friends.[1][10] A 2017 survey from 3M showed that only 40% of the women surveyed planned to give chocolate to their male co-workers,[1] compared to 80% in a 2007 survey conducted by a different company.[2] In 2018, Godiva Chocolatier also criticized the practice of giving giri choco with a full-page advertisement, calling for workplaces to ban it entirely, though some critics have accused them of stealth marketing.[5][8][11]

• Giri (Japanese)
• Honmei choco