Is there a culture of giving presents to Japanese colleagues in Japan?

There are many countries in the world where bosses, subordinates, and colleagues give gifts and money to each other, right? Is there such a culture in Japan? Let me tell you what you should know.

Let's talk in order from January. January is called New Year（お正月） in Japan.

It is customary for all relatives to get together and give money called New Year's gifts (money) from parents to their children. This is a custom between family members and relatives, and it is not necessary to implement it at work. I think he will be surprised if his boss gives money to his subordinates

February has Valentine's Day. About 10 to 20 years ago, in Japan, it was customary for female employees to buy chocolates or make them by hand and distribute them to employees.

Nowadays, some companies retain that custom, but it's almost gone. Employees are free to prepare and hand over chocolates. It's not an event that must be held reliably

March is the season for personnel change announcements for April 1. In Japan, where jobs are rotated on a regular basis, there will be colleagues who will change jobs from April 1st.

In this case, a welcome party or a farewell party is often held. At that time, we may prepare gifts for bosses and colleagues who are moving to another workplace. This is not the case in all cases, but in many cases the workplace representative will prepare the present and everyone will bear the cost equally.

In Japan, where many companies adopt a fiscal year starting in April, April is often the beginning of a new system. As soon as April is over, we will enter a long vacation called Golden Week. It's just a long vacation that happens to be a lot of holidays, so there aren't any events like Asian water festivals or Western Christmas.

July and August have long summer vacations. Since it is Japan, the long term is about one week. You don't get a month off like you do in European countries.
The important thing here is the existence of souvenirs（お土産）. Many Japanese return home during the Obon （お盆）holidays. Buying and distributing souvenirs from this hometown is a Japanese tradition. Of course, this does not mean that you have to buy and distribute souvenirs. You are free to buy souvenirs or not. However, you will be more pleased if you buy and distribute souvenirs, and you will have the advantage of making friends with your colleagues.

Last but not least, December has Christmas. Is it good to give a gift for Christmas? Can I give you a gift? Japan is relatively fond of Christmas and may have Christmas parties at work place. However, there is no custom of personally giving Christmas gifts to colleagues at workplace. If you have a Christmas party, it's a good idea to give out something that isn't expensive.

In conclusion, in Japan, there is always no event or culture to give money or gifts to your boss or colleagues. At each small event, if you feel like it, it's a good idea to give out less expensive things to your team members.