Japanese women splurge for Valentine's Day

TOKYO —

Japanese women jostled feverishly for elbow room at stores on Friday to buy Valentine’s Day chocolates for the men in their lives—guys who do sweet nothing in return.

While the ladies splurge on the object of their desire—as well as friends, colleagues and bosses—men simply wait for the goodies to pour in on February 14 and gorge to their heart’s content.

It’s a far cry from the Western version of Valentine’s Day with its saucy commercials featuring handsome hunks swooping in to leave a box of chocolates on a lover’s bed.

Although the confectionery traffic is one-way in Japan, the country celebrates White Day next month, when men are required to reciprocate with a white gift—from cookies to lingerie.

“It’s madness today,” said Masako Fukuda, as she clutched a dainty bag of Belgian cocoa truffles which set her back a cool 8,000 yen.

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