This is Bill Tsutsui with another Postcard from Asia from the Center for East Asian Studies.

According to the Japanese, you can tell a lot about a person by their blood type: Type A is the farmer, calm and responsible; Type B is the hunter, independent and creative; Type AB is humanistic, cool and sociable; and Type O is the warrior, loyal and ambitious. This is known as blood-typology and it occupies a neat little segment of Japanese pop culture. It is used for dating, and in employment, and by marketers to sell products ranging from soft drinks to condoms. Recently, the Red Sox spent a hundred mil to acquire pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka; they probably weren’t even aware that he is a Type O and that they make the best bankers, politicians and…you guessed it… professional baseball players.

With thanks to Randi Hacker for this text, from the Center for East Asian Studies, I’m Bill Tsutsui. Wish you were here.