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People in Japan are obsessed with predicting personality by blood type

It's called etsueki-gata uranaiin in Japanese: matchmaking based on blood type. 

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Beyond being an indicator of your ability to get a face transplant or the likelihood that mosquitoes will want to bite you, blood type is often taken to be a personality indicator in East Asia — much like zodiac signs in the West.

It's the reason why books like "Instruction Manual for People with Type B Blood" (and follow up books for A, O, and AB) have become bestsellers in Japan, prime ministers tend to be type O, and at least one politician has resigned, because, he says, his blood type made him too abrasive

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Japanese expat guide Japan Visitor says the blood types go like this

• Type A people are "farmers": Calm, patient, and hardworking. Famous examples include Ringo Starr, Britney Spears, and George H.W. Bush. 

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• Type B people are "hunters": Creative, optimistic, and individualist. Examples include Paul McCartney, Leonardo di Caprio, and Jack Nicholson. 

• Type AB people are "humanists": Cociable, critical, and indecisive. Examples include Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, and John F. Kennedy.

• Type O people are "warriors": Coyal, ambitious, and jealous. Examples include John Lennon, Queen Elizabeth II, and Paul Newman.

The compatibility between blood types are complex, or so reports indicate. If an A and B match up, they'll get along for a minute — before they get tired of one another. 

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But as with astrology, there's no science to back it up.

The history of blood-typing in Japan reportedly dates back to World War II, when the Japanese military sorted troops by blood type. In the 1970s it got big again after "Understanding Affinity Through Blood Type," a book by journalist Masahiko Nomi, was released.

These days, you can buy all sorts products in Japan tailored to your blood type, including condoms decorated to match personality, and beverages to bring out your blood type's might. For example, type AB drinks have extra magnesium, which is supposed to lessen stress and "play into ... blood-borne strengths." 

More recently, blood-typing has started gaining in popularity in the US and the UK: The blood type diet doesn't seem to fade away, though a 2013 review of the literature found little evidence for its effectiveness.

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