Surprise surprise! That’s hardly earth-shattering news, but a recent report from MyVoice confirms the fact and discloses a few additional details too. What Japan Thinks summarizes the results of this survey.

For the main question, only 3.7% of Japanese said they disliked chocolate to any extent at all. A full 61% like it a lot and another 26% like it to some extent. That was based on a sample size of 14,628, as the whole survey was.

The favorite types included milk chocolate (48%), fresh chocolate (43%), dark chocolate (41%), chocolate with nuts (34%), and truffles (31%). It’s not clear where Pocky fits into this, but 26% prefer treats like Smarties or M&Ms while 22% prefer enrobing chocolate like Kit-Kats.

11% will eat anything so long as it’s made of chocolate. A famous chef once told me not to worry since dinner guests will eat anything so long as there is whipped cream on it. And he meant anything… Probably the principle is similar.

68% have chocolate as a snack, 63% when tired, 56% when they want something sweet, 32% when they are hungry, and 27% when they want something in their mouth (???) Chocolate is consumed at many other times but those are by far the most common responses.

The most common beverages to have with chocolate were coffee (55%). black tea (28%), and green tea (22%). Although 10% have whiskey or brandy with chocolate (a good match), less than 1% have it with sake (probably disgusting anyway).

With Valentine’s Day coming up (already…) maybe these statistics will prove useful, since 60% of females in Japan will be giving chocolate to someone, which makes for a lot of happy fathers, husbands, boyfriends and would-be-boyfriends, at least according to a Japundit report on Valentine’s Day in Japan.

Another report by alexpappas has further info on both chocolate and Valentine’s Day, and greetings from Hello Kitty and her special chocolates have been offered, although someone commented “You’ve ruined Valentine’s Day with this thread…” But this is premature — there is still over a month to go!