在其他國家，情人節是女性坐等收禮物的節日，然而在日本，2月14日這一天女性卻要給男同事送巧克力，這一傳統已經延續了數十年。
不過日本職場男性的「情人節福利」恐怕很快就要終結了，因為越來越多日本女性受不了這一傳統，寧願買巧克力送給家人或犒賞自己。
衛報網站截圖
Japanese women are pushing back against a tradition that dictates they must give chocolates to male colleagues on Valentine’s Day, with growing anger at the practice of 「forced giving」.
日本女性開始抵制每年2月14日必須給男同事送巧克力這一傳統，因為她們對這種「強制送禮」習俗越來越不滿。
Until recently, women in the workplace were expected to buy chocolates for their male workmates as part of a tradition called giri choco – literally, obligation chocolates.
一直以來，日本職場女性要為男同事購買「義理巧克力」，這已經成為日本的一項情人節傳統。
Men are supposed to reciprocate on March 14 on White Day – an event dreamed up by chocolate makers in the early 80s to boost sales.
收到巧克力的職場男性則要在3月14日白色情人節回贈禮物。這是上世紀80年代初巧克力製造商為了增加銷量而想出的活動。
reciprocate[rɪ'sɪprəket]: vt. 報答
But there is growing evidence that giri choco is falling out of favor.
但越來越多的證據顯示，「義理巧克力」已經變得不受歡迎。
For a growing number of people, the pressure to avoid causing offence by spending thousands of yen on chocolates for coworkers is becoming intolerable. Some companies are now banning the practice, which is seen by many workers as a form of abuse of power and harassment.
為了避免冒犯同事而花數千日元購買巧克力相贈，讓越來越多人無法容忍。一些公司如今已經禁止了這一行為，因為許多員工將其視為濫用權力和騷擾。
A survey found that more than 60% of women will instead buy chocolates as a personal treat on February 14. More than 56% said they would give chocolates to family members, while 36% would make the same gesture towards partners or the objects of a crush.
東京一家百貨商店的調查發現，超過60%的女性將在2月14日這天購買巧克力犒勞自己，超56%的女性表示將把巧克力送給家人，36%的女性表示將送給伴侶或意中人。
Keeping on the right side of colleagues, however, was furthest from their thoughts, with just 35% saying they planned to hand out chocolate treats to men at their workplace, according to the poll by a Tokyo department store.
調查顯示，和同事搞好關係是日本女性最不關心的，只有35%的女性表示她們打算送男同事巧克力。
"Before the ban, we had to worry about things like how much is appropriate to spend on each chocolate and where we draw the line in who we give the chocolates to, so it’s good that we no longer have this culture of forced giving,」 one of the surveyed office workers said, according to the Japan Today website.
據今日日本網報導，受訪的一名辦公室職員說：「公司禁止贈送『義理巧克力』之前，我們要操心的事情有：買多少錢的巧克力合適，送哪些人、不送哪些人？所以，現在掃除了這一強制送禮的文化，真是太好了。」
SoraNews24, meanwhile, reported on the recent phenomenon of gyaku choco – reverse chocolate – in which men give chocolates to spouses, girlfriends or prospective lovers.
與此同時，日本新聞網站SoraNews24報導了「反向巧克力」的新趨勢——男性給配偶、女友或意中人贈送巧克力。
Giving chocolate as Valentine’s Day gifts took off commercially in Japan in the mid-1950s, growing into a multimillion-dollar market that provides some manufacturers with a sizeable chunk of their annual sales in just a few days.
在情人節贈送巧克力的商業活動始於上世紀50年代中期，後來發展為數百萬美元的市場規模，一些巧克力製造商短短幾天的銷售額就達到了年銷售總額的很大一部分。
But the backlash against giri choco has prompted some confectioners to revamp their marketing campaigns.
不過，民眾對「義理巧克力」的抵制促使一些巧克力製造商調整了營銷策略。
In the run-up to Valentine’s Day last year, the Belgian chocolatier Godiva caused a stir when it ran a full-page newspaper ad urging businesses to encourage female employees not to hand out giri choco if they felt they were doing so under duress.
去年情人節前夕，比利時巧克力製造商歌帝梵在報紙上登整版廣告，敦促企業鼓勵女員工，如果覺得受強迫就不要送「義理巧克力」，引發民意沸騰。
duress[du'rɛs]: n. 強迫
"Valentine’s Day is a day when people convey their true feelings, not coordinate relationships at work,」 the ad said.
廣告上說：「情人節是人們表達真情實感的節日，不是協調職場關係的日子。」
儘管如此，日本人對於情人節吃巧克力還是有著很深的情結。因此，商家也藉機推出和巧克力有關的情人節活動。
While individual consumers weigh up their gift-giving options, Japan’s collective Valentine’s chocolate obsession is gathering pace as the day approaches.
雖然個體消費者還在猶豫要買什麼情人節禮物，但日本民眾對巧克力的熱情卻已然隨著情人節的臨近而升溫。
Japan Airlines will hand out chocolates to passengers – male and female – on all of its domestic and international flight on February 14, while a hot spring resort near Tokyo has unveiled a bath filled with steaming 「chocolate water」.
日本航空將在2月14日給國內和國際航班的所有旅客都分發巧克力，無論男女。東京附近的一處溫泉度假村推出了「巧克力蒸汽浴」。
But the prize for the most improbable Valentine’s gimmick must go to a chain of sushi restaurants whose diners will be offered slivers of raw yellowtail mixed with, yes, chocolate.
不過，最不可思議的情人節大招來自一家壽司連鎖餐廳，這家餐廳為顧客提供生鯡魚片配巧克力！
來源：中國日報網英語點津，編輯：丹妮