What sizes to stock up for Japan?

I would like to stock up gifts to bring to Japan to give future Japanese friends for birthday presents, christmas presents, return omiyage, et cetera. Rather than buying something in Japan, I feel it's best to be ready with them. Saves a lot of headache. I am planning to buy the following clothing sizes from usa:

women: 2, 4, 6, 2P, 4P, 6P
men: XS, S

Those who are not familiar with American sizing, sz 2 usually fit 45-50kg best, sz 4 fit 50-55kg best, sz 6 fit 55-60kg best. Sizes ending with ''P'' (meaning ''petite'') are a better fit for those 1.6m and under.

Mens XS fits 55-60kg or so, S fits 60-65kg or so.

Some questions:

-Will some superstitious ppl be offended to receive a sz ''4'' as it means ''death'' in Japanese? If so, is it better to give a sz 2 or 6 in case the person is a sz 4?

-In the case I think the recipient is between a sz 4 and 6, should I give a sz 4 or 6? I know most of my friends here in the US would give a 4 instead of a 6 as giving the bigger size might offend the recipient.

-Are there many mature Japanese women (25 and above) who are sz 0 or sz 8?


Please fill me in with common stats of Japanese people so I can make better purchasing decisions. Like how many % fit sz 2? how many % fit sz 4? how many % fit sz 6? Hope this is not too much. Thanks a lot in advance!

Generally speaking, I do not recommend giving clothing as gifts - the sizes differ sooooo much depending on the cut and make, that you never know if they fit (even with similar body measurements, shapes and build tend to be somewhat different); for the same reason, I don't really recommend stockig up in advance without knowing who you might want to give to :) Also style preferences vary widely. Maybe T-shirts with logos of your town, university, etc., might be for fun, but that's about all I would suggest.

If you must,
- No problem with size 4.
- For the reason I wrote above, you will be giving the gift without really knowing - some might be offended, but some would find it awfully disappointing if they can't fit into it, or if it's too tight...