Valentine's Day and gifts in Japan

I think the success of Valentine's Day and White Day owes Japanese predilection for presents.

When they travel, Japanese people always look for presents not only for their family but also for neighbors and colleagues.

In Japan there are two occasions every year to give presents to "those who are kind to us".
Teachers of piano or judo, doctors, and bosses of companies or whatever receives many presents.

(Not school teachers obviously. It can be taken for a bribe !)

These gifts are not very personal, so they are often food or commodities such as sweets, tea, good towels, etc.

When the Japanese visit someone, they of course always bring something.
Same thing with house-moving.
Those who move distribute some small gift to their ancient neighbors and their new ones.

On top of that there are personal occasions :
birthday, mother's day, father's day, anniversaries, etc., etc. 

Finally it is considered "rude" not to give something in return if you got a present.
So you see why White Day has such a big success.

It is not surprising to see girls distributing chocolate to friends including other girls.