Blood Types in Japanese Culture

Blood Types In Japanese Culture

There exists a common, popular belief in Japan and other East Asian countries that a person's ABO blood type or ketsueki-gata (血液型?) is predictive of his or her personality, temperament, and compatibility with others, similar to how astrological signs are used in other countries throughout the world, although blood type plays a much more prominent role in Japanese and the societies of other East Asian countries than astrology does in other countries' societies.

Ultimately deriving from ideas of historical scientific racism, the popular belief originates with publications by Masahiko Nomi in the 1970s. The scientific community dismisses such beliefs as superstition or pseudoscience.

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