Self-proclaimed 'men whom women find unattractive' protest Valentine's Day, chocolate in Japan

Cupid stalks Toyoko
(Image credit: CC by: Manish Prabhune)

Sounds like cupid needs to shoot these guys with his arrow: A group of Japanese men whose name translates to Revolutionary Alliance of Men Whom Women Find Unattractive plans to march through the streets of Tokyo to protest the evils of Valentine's Day.

The organization, known by its Japanese acronym, Kakuhido, is already railing against the holiday online, writing on its website, "The blood-soaked conspiracy of Valentine's Day, driven by the oppressive chocolate capitalists, has arrived once again." Although everyone knows that chocolate capitalists are the best type of capitalists, Kakuhido wants to do away with the entire industry, outraged over the Japanese tradition of women buying giri choko, or obligation chocolates, for male colleagues and friends, The Guardian reports. They also dislike the fact that a month later on White Day — an event created by candy companies in the 1980s — men are supposed to return the favor for the women in their lives.

When they're not protesting Big Chocolate, Kakuhido is marching against public flirting, calling it "terrorism," and bashing "housewives who decide Japan's future." This is all just "sour grapes" from men who have trouble in relationships with women, media commentator Mark Schreiber told The Guardian. "They are self-admitted unattractive men who have tried, been found wanting, and have given up," he said. "They are frustrated and left feeling excluded from holidays like Christmas and Valentine's Day."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Catherine Garcia

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.