Japan Post Co., a unit of Japan Post Holdings Co., will raise mail rates on Thursday, the first full-fledged hikes since January 1994, excluding markups on consumption tax increases.
The rate for standard postcards will be increased by 10 yen to 62 yen. Rates will also go up for others, such as envelops and postal items for “Yu-Mail” delivery services.
Meanwhile, Japan Post will keep the rate for New Year’s greeting cards intact at 52 yen for the time being.
The firm decided to carry out the first full rate hike in 23 years, finding it difficult to keep postal services profitable due to a decline in the number of postcard senders amid the spread of emails and a rise in labor costs.
In fiscal 2001, 26.3 billion items, excluding parcels, were sent by mail. But the figure fell to 17.7 billion in fiscal 2016, which ended in March.
Source: Jiji Image: ANN
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