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Japanese Valentine’s Day surveys: women likely to succeed at confessing, men split on chocolate

Katy Kelly Feb 10, 2020
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Dating website Matching App University brings us some sentimental survey stats, just in time for the year’s most lovey-dovey holiday.

Valentine’s Day can be harsh when you’re having problems finding the right partner; a day to spend in a gloomy chocolate-fueled stupor, raging futilely against capitalism as it kicks salt in the wound of your romantic failures. Any ladies who feel especially dreary at the prospect of a Valentine’s Day spent alone can take heart in this latest survey run by Matching App University, a website all about romance and the science behind making it work.

190 participants filled out the survey titled “Valentine’s Day Confessions”. The participants were both male and female, with participants ranging in age between their teens and forties. Data was collected between January 14 to January 28 of this year, and covered a range of Valentine’s themed topics. Let’s take a look at those percentages!

First, the main question pitched at female participants:

When you confessed on Valentine’s Day, were you successful or were you turned down?

I was successful — 66.7 percent
I was turned down — 24.6 percent
No comment — 8.7 percent

That’s right: a whopping 66.7 percent of lovestruck Japanese girls started Valentine’s Day single and ended it with a date!

Of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story, which is why Matching App University presented those who answered “I was successful” with a follow-up question.

Why do you think your confession succeeded?

My crush felt the same way — 74.4 percent
After I confessed, he chose to accept my feelings — 12.8 percent
He wasn’t interested in any other girls at the time — 7.7 percent
I made him home-made chocolate — 2.6 percent
He wanted to have a girlfriend, just like I wanted a boyfriend — 2.6 percent

Ah, well, there you go. The deciding factor in these successful confessions appears to be that there was a pre-existing spark between the two romantic interests, and Valentine’s Day just served as the motivation to take the plunge and confess. Still, the second-highest reason given is that the recipient of the girls’ confessions considered her feelings and decided to date her anyway.

Something more shocking is how unimportant home-made chocolate was in the confession gambit. Only a puny 2.6 percent of female confessors considered it the reason behind their success! That’s exactly as many as people who apparently confessed to someone just as desperate as they were.

▼ At least we can all agree that convenience store chocolate just won’t cut it.

The survey did dig into the controversial topic of store-bought chocolate versus home-made, with a special section targeted towards male participants. It started out simple enough…

Would you be happier to receive store-bought chocolate or hand-made?

Store-bought — 46.1 percent
Home-made — 53.9 percent

Home-made chocolate wins out here too, albeit with a tinier margin than one might expect.

But what makes home-made chocolate so much better? Responses ran the gamut from “it’s packed full of her feelings” to “it feels more feminine” to “it makes me feel like she really cares about me”. Meanwhile, guys who preferred to receive commercial chocolate provided reasons like “it just tastes really good”, “homemade chocolate is too much pressure to receive” and, of course, “I don’t want to eat home-made chocolates made by girls I barely know anything about.”

▼ Anything could be lurking behind that cute frosted face.

Participants also shared their desires for the scenario itself:

“What’s your ideal situation for a romantic confession?“

On the way back from school/work when no one’s paying attention — 41.6 percent
Getting a casual note on my school/work desk — 20.2 percent
An invitation to meet on the way back from work/school — 19.1 percent
Arranging to meet over phone or e-mail — 12.4 percent
In front of my house after work/school — 2.3 percent
During school/club or right as work finishes, in front of everyone — 1.1 percent
Other — 3.4 percent

Turns out that while Japanese audiences love to drink up huge, dramatic confession scenes in anime, manga and TV dramas, in the real world people are much happier with a discreet nudge and maybe a cute letter. Good luck to anyone confessing their feelings, and have a happy Valentine’s Day!

Source: Matching App University via PR Times
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1,2)
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