Many Japanese men still think of themselves as Samurai warriors and tend to shun buying sweets that are packaged to appeal more to women and children.

Japanese sweets, for example, are wrapped in pastel pink, yellow or bright red paper with kittens, bunnies or comic figures -- hardly the items the average Japanese man would be seen buying or eating.

Which explains why most men are often fond of saying: ‘I don't eat/don't like sweets, as a sign of their machismo.

Its time for an image change, sweet makers say. In response, the industry has launched a series of high-quality bitter chocolates wrapped in gold paper and presented in smart, dark-coloured boxes.

"We are hoping to expand the market to include adults, also men, from mainly children and young women," said Takatomo Etoh, a spokesman at Meiji Seika Kaisha, Ltd, the market leader inJapans confectionery industry.

"With our new products, in both packaging and taste, we are aiming at people who havent eaten much chocolate in the past. Many Japanese men say they are embarrassed to buy chocolate themselves," Etoh told Reuters in a recent interview.

Industry officials say they are satisfied with the initial reaction to their new products, which have been on sale for the past few months. Some cocoa traders have even called them the worlds best mass-produced chocolates.

"They are of top quality," said a senior cocoa trader at a trading house. "Japanese use the best cocoa beans. They also have the best technology. Its only the image, in which Japanese are inferior to foreign rivals."

Nevertheless, industry officials and traders worry Japanese intake of chocolate might shrink further this year as the country struggles with the worst recession since World War Two.

"Its very tough this year as the economy's in poor shape," said Fumio Sukegawa, director general at the Chocolate & CocoaAssociation of Japan. "Consumption dropped already last year. Up to then, we saw growth each year, albeit small."

A cocoa trader at one of Japans leading trading houses agreed, saying: "We usually import about 50,000 tonnes of cocoa beans and grind them. But grinding fell to around 41,000 tonnes last year, and its likely to drop further this year."

Despite high per capita income, chocolate consumption has never taken off in Japan, mainly due to strong competition from traditional sweets made with red beans.

Data compiled by the International Cocoa Organisation showed that Japanese annual per capita chocolate consumption stood at 1.11 kg (2.5 lb) in 1995/1996, much lower than in many European countries and the United States.

The association also said that out of around two million tonnes of confectioneries produced in Japan last year, chocolates accounted for only 189,500 tonnes, while red bean cakes made up the largest share of 376,000 tonnes.

"Japanese have so many different confectioneries to pickfrom -- Western things like cream cakes, chocolates and candies as well as traditional stuff such as red bean cakes or rice crackers," said Chisa Karita, spokeswoman at Meiji.

"In addition, Japanese use quite a lot of sugar in cooking so they don't feel much need for sweets after the meal," she said.

The country also plays only a minor role in the international cocoa beans market, where some 2.7 million tonnes changed hands last year, compared to about 50,000 tonnes bought by Japan.

Internationally-renowned chocolate makers from Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands have also had little success in the Japanese market so far, with the share of foreign chocolates stagnant at around 10 per cent.

In 1997, Japan bought 17,413 tonnes of foreign chocolates, while consuming 188,732 tonnes of domestic chocolates, the confectionery association's data showed.

Production under licence has also had an unfortunate history.

In the early 1970s, Meiji abandoned links with Swiss Jacobs Suchard after a few yearsbecause the venture was unprofitable. The only major foreign chocolate now manufactured here is Kit Kat, though it is sold in a much smaller package than in other countries.

In a bid to tempt Japanese to eat more chocolate, the confectionery industry has been advocating how good chocolate is for health. Polyphenol contained in cocoa beans prevents heart disease, cancer and helps people cope with stress, it says.

So, will chocolate help people cope with the economic recession?

"With natural cocoa polyphenol, you can stay healthy," says the package of one of the new bitter chocolates. "Chocolate for grown-ups who value health and taste," says another.