Expensive New Year cards go on sale in Japan

Post offices across Japan have begun selling New Year greeting cards, the price of which has risen this year due to an increase in postal rates in October.

A ceremony was held in Tokyo on Friday to mark the start of the nationwide sale.

At Tokyo’s central post office in Chiyoda Ward, people bought postcards featuring snakes, the zodiac sign for the next year.

The price of a regular card was raised to 85 yen, or about 55 cents, up from 41 cents.

A man in his 50s said he bought 200 cards last year, but only five this year due to the higher price.

Japan Post raised rates partly due to mounting losses. In fiscal 2023, the company posted an operating loss of 89.6 billion yen, or about $590 million.

Fewer people send mail these days. Higher transport costs are also putting pressure on the postal business.

Anticipating lower demand, Japan Post has cut card production by 25 percent this year compared with 2023. It is printing 1.07 billion cards, the fewest since 2004, when output peaked at more than 4.4 billion.

Nowadays, more and more people use social networks and email to send greetings. Companies are also starting to phase out the practice of sending cards due to cost cutting and environmental concerns.

There is also a trend among predominantly older people to send New Year’s cards announcing that the senders are ending the practice.

A stationery store in Tokyo’s Taito district sells a special text stamp that politely states that this year’s cards will be the last. The store says it expects demand from people breaking away from tradition.