News On Japan

Japan Post to Raise Stamp Prices

TOKYO, Jun 13 (News On Japan) - Japan Post has announced its first price increase in nearly 30 years, set to take effect this fall, unveiling new stamps and postcards.

The cost of postcards will rise from the current 63 yen to 85 yen per piece, while standard letters weighing up to 25 grams will increase from 84 yen to 110 yen.

Excluding adjustments for consumption tax hikes, this comprehensive postal rate increase marks the first since 1994.

The decline in postal mail volume, driven by the advancement of digital communication, is a key factor behind this decision.

Japan Post's postal business has faced ongoing financial challenges, with rising transportation costs leading to the first post-privatization deficit in the fiscal year 2022.

The new rates will apply to items brought to post office counters from October 1 onwards. However, mail deposited in post boxes will be delivered at current rates if collected during the first pickup of October 1.

Source: ANN

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

An Idemitsu Kosan crude oil tanker has safely passed through the Strait of Hormuz, becoming the first vessel bound for Japan to do so since attacks on Iran heightened tensions in the region and effectively disrupted maritime traffic.

Japan’s Golden Week holiday period got fully underway on April 29, drawing large crowds to major tourist destinations and airports, where long lines formed as overseas travel surged.

A series of sightings involving unusually large brown bears in Hokkaido has heightened concerns among local residents, with one 330-kilogram animal captured in Tomamae and another 280-kilogram bear attacking a hunter in Shimamaki.

Full-scale Golden Week travel began on April 29, with Chubu Centrair International Airport experiencing its busiest outbound travel day of the holiday period. The airport was crowded from the morning with vacationers heading overseas.

Electricity and gas bills for usage in May will rise slightly in Japan, with the impact of tensions involving Iran expected to appear in utility charges from June onward. Larger increases could follow in subsequent months.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Business NEWS

Electricity and gas bills for usage in May will rise slightly in Japan, with the impact of tensions involving Iran expected to appear in utility charges from June onward. Larger increases could follow in subsequent months.

The Bank of Japan decided to leave interest rates unchanged, opting against an additional rate hike for now, after its monetary policy meeting concluded earlier with a majority vote to maintain the policy rate at 0.75%, marking the third consecutive meeting at which rates were left unchanged.

Shizuoka City said it will shorten operating hours at three municipally run hot spring facilities from May 7 for the time being, after instability in heavy oil supplies linked to the situation in Iran.

Prolonged tensions in the Middle East are beginning to affect everyday vegetables in Japan, with tomato farmers facing higher costs and shortages of packaging materials.

The impact of the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is spreading to Japan's export industries, dealing a fresh blow to automakers and other companies reliant on Middle East trade routes.

The Nikkei Stock Average rose by more than 1,100 points at one stage in trading on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on Monday. Following gains in semiconductor-related shares on the New York market on June 24, buy orders flowed into AI and chip-related stocks in Tokyo, lifting the Nikkei back above the 60,000 level.

Japan has reduced refinery operating rates as it scrambles to secure alternative crude supplies following disruptions to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the growing strain on one of Asia’s most import-dependent energy markets.

American crude oil secured as an alternative supply source has arrived in Japan for the first time, as the de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz makes procurement from the Middle East increasingly difficult.