White Day: Beauty, Wordplay and a Complicated Legacy

Today, and April 6th annually, is White Day 白の日 in Japan. Not to be confused with the March 14th gift‑giving White Day, this one is about perceived beauty. It was created by a skincare technician, Kaori Nakajima, to promote a bright and clear complexion. The date comes from the fact that April 6th, 6/4, can be read as "shi(4) ro(6)", the Japanese for "white".

That skincare expert, Kaori Nakajima, promotes the idea of “美白 (bihaku)”, which is a concept known as "whitening" in Japan. To be classified as "whitening" products in Japan, products must contain government‑approved active ingredients such as arbutin, kojic acid, vitamin C derivatives, tranexamic acid, or rucinol to suppress melanin production. 

The whole "whitening" concept is a strange concept to me. Despite living here for many years and knowing that the products are probably more like what we call "brightening" products in English, it still makes me feel uncomfortable that "whitening" products and "white beauty" is promoted in Japan.