“Flower Valentine’ is becoming a culture in Japan as well”

Valentine’s Day in Japan used to be celebrated with chocolate, but nowadays, due to the efforts of the Flowering Japan Council, it is also a flower holiday. Nobu Kaishita of Chrysal Japan Limited explains how it changed over the years, and how ‘Flowers Valentine’ is now becoming a culture in Japan as well.

Valentine’s Day was introduced in Japan in the 1960s through chocolate companies. On this day of the year, women present chocolates to men and confess their love! This is unique to the Japanese Valentine’s Day, and it is said that the economic effect is over JPY100 billion.

However, since 2010, the general incorporated association, Flowering Japan Council, has been playing a central role in developing the ‘Flower Valentine’ movement, in which men present flowers to women. Nowadays, there is no distinction between men and women, and ‘Flower Valentine’ has expanded as a day to give flowers to friends and even to yourself.

In January 2023, a flower store user survey was conducted among consumers of major flower shop chains (Hibiya Kadan, Aoyama Flower Market, Uniqlo Flower) and mass retailers like AEON. The people surveyed lived in the Kanto area and were in their 20s to 50s. Ms. Kyoko Aoki of Gerda Research analyzed the results of 2023. The percentage of customers purchasing flowers on Valentine’s Day ranged from 13% at Aoyama, UNIQLO, to 25% at Hibiya, and 5% at Aeon.  She remarked that; “In this way, ‘Flower Valentine’ is becoming a culture in Japan as well.”