SPOTLIGHT - In Japan, blood type indicates personality traits

When the atmosphere loosened up at her office, Japanese hospital lerk Makiko Ishikawa knew it was because there was new blood around — literally. Fellow workers with Type-O blood had joined the team, she explained, replacing the Type-A types who strictly follow the rules. “When I meet someone for the first time, like newcomers at work, I usually ask them their blood types. It tells me something about their personality,” said 30year-old Ms Ishikawa. “You would be amazed to find out how much you can tell about a person by knowing her or his blood type,” she said. Such belief in a link between blood types and human personalities is common currency in Japan and South Korea. Television networks and magazines are rife with programmes on the supposed connection, and many Japanese and Koreans casually ask others about their blood types to predict their inclinations. While in Western countries many people are completely unaware of their blood types unless they need to provide it to health workers for medical reasons, Japanese are acutely aware what type they are. But the practice also has a dark side — discrimination against people, particularly children, based purely on their blood.

The issue has become such a cause of concern that a Japanese industry group has asked major broadcasters to stop presenting blood type shows as science. To Mr Toshitaka Nomi, a leading researcher of blood-type characterisation who has studied the link for three decades, people are undeniably predisposed to certain characteristics due to their blood. He believes Japan should recognise the fact and make use of it. “If studies in this area become more advanced, we can apply this to improve product marketing, human resource management, education,” said Mr Nomi, a former journalist who heads the non-profit Human Science ABO centre in Tokyo. In Japan, the four blood types are more evenly distributed than in many countries, although Type-A and Type-O still account for nearly 70 per cent of the population.

According to popular belief, Type-A people are organised perfectionists, while TypeOs are strong leaders. The more rare Type-AB indicates a person is rational and standoffish in public, but in private is creative and full of emotion, typically becoming decorators or gourmands. Type-B means a person puts personal freedom above community order, a taboo in East Asian culture, leading to the bullying of Type-B children at school. Only 20 percent of people in highly organised Japan are Type-B, compared with about 40 per cent in India, Mr Nomi said.

According to Mr Nomi’s research, during the era of Japan’s rapid economic growth after World War II, 36 per cent of publicly traded firms had Type-O, or strong leaders, presidents, more than the 31 per cent of the general population. After the 1970s, the percentage of Type-O presidents fell to 29 per cent. They were replaced by TypeAs, the organised ones whose management skills kept up Japan’s stable growth, Mr Nomi said.