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Despite the lack of conclusive scientific proof, a person's blood type is believed to be an indication of their personality, temperament, and hence their compatibility with other people. Many Japanese, especially those who read light entertainment magazines and watch morning TV chat shows, consider it for interpersonal relationships.
Ancient cultures have long associated blood with strength, vitality and health, and see blood as a symbol of life force or spiritual significance. The concept of humors was central to the theory of humoralism, which was developed by the Greek physician Hippocrates and later refined by Galen. They linked blood to the element air, and it was thought to be associated with a sanguine personality, characterized by a cheerful, optimistic and social nature.
Believers might be comforted with the knowledge that their partner's blood type is compatible with theirs.
Be aware, however, that the superstition can have unfortunate consequences by misjudging people or even discriminating against them.
As a foreigner living in Japan, people have been astonished when I tell them I've no idea what my blood type is. The superstition in Japan is as strong, if not stronger, than the belief in astrology.
And as with astrology, there are an infinite number of factors other than blood type which determine our personality, temperament and compatibility with other people.
It's (probably) true that Hippocrates and Galen assigned personality traits to blood, but that's nothing to do with the current superstition which is based on blood type, not just blood. Nobody knew blood had different types until they were discovered in the early 20th century by Austrian immunologist Karl Landsteiner.
The personality traits linkage to blood types was concocted a few years after Landsteiner's discovery, by Japanese professor Takeji Furukawa. He published a paper called The Study of Temperament Through Blood Type in 1927, claiming that blood type could predict personality.
His work caught the eye of Japan's military which tried to rationalize or categorize individuals for roles during the 1920s and 1930s. The military believed that understanding these supposed personality traits could aid in recruitment, leadership selection, and even combat effectiveness. This theory aligned with the broader interest at the time in concepts such as eugenics, which were used to justify various social and military policies.
Japan was not the only country to disgrace itself by trying to purify its gene pool in the early 20th century. Britain, the U.S. and other countries, similarly embraced eugenics, often supplementing other policies such as forced sterilizations. (Nazi Germany's use of pseudoscience was the most extreme.)
Nowadays, the military of Japan and most other countries use scientifically-sound procedures, but many of Japan's populace hang on to blood-type-personality beliefs, as do some Koreans.
Is there any scientific evidence to support the notion that personality is influenced by one's blood type? Nope. There’s no solid evidence linking blood type and personality. It is a form of bunk science (like phrenology). But it does remain culturally significant in Japan and is widely believed.