By type, the Japanese mean blood type, and no amount of scientific debunking can kill a widely held notion that blood tells all.
In the year just ended, four of Japan’s top 10 best-sellers were about how blood type determines personality, according to Japan’s largest book distributor, Tohan Co.
The publisher, Bungeisha, says the series — one each for types B, O, A, and AB — has combined sales of well over 5 million copies.
As defined by the books, type As are sensitive perfectionists but overanxious;
Type Bs are cheerful but eccentric and selfish;
O's are curious, generous but stubborn;
AB's: are arty but mysterious and unpredictable.
Even PM Taro Aso seems to consider it important enough to reveal in his web profile. He’s an A. His rival, opposition leader Ichiro Ozawa, is a B.
It doesn’t stop there. Matchmaking agencies provide bloodtype compatibility tests, and some firms decide about assignments based on employees’ blood types.
Not all see the craze as harmless, and the Japanese now have a term, “Bura-Hara”, meaning bloodtype harassment. And, despite warnings, many employers continue to ask blood types at job interviews, said an official at the Health, Welfare and Labour Ministry.
Blood Works: An employee displays a Japanese publisher’s best-selling book series ~ one each for types B, O, A and AB
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