Japan Post’s Ikuta raps Yamato over ending Lawson partnership

Japan Post President Masaharu Ikuta criticized Yamato Transport Co. on Friday for terminating its partnership with Lawson Inc. from November, insisting the decision deprives customers of choices.

“I am surprised and very perplexed at Yamato’s withdrawal. We should have engaged in a competition to give customers opportunities to choose” between the two entities, Ikuta told the Japan National Press Club.

Yamato, Japan’s largest door-to-door parcel delivery service company, decided to end its business alliance with Lawson when the current contract expires after the convenience store operator said last week it will begin handling Japan Post parcels at its 7,850 outlets nationwide in mid-November.

Lawson, which exclusively handles Yamato packages, said it decided to switch partners because it believes a tie-up with the public corporation offers more opportunities. It had offered to continue handling Yamato packages along with Japan Post’s, but Yamato rejected it.

The courier published comments in newspapers Thursday and Friday saying, “We will not compete at a playing field that is not level.” It accused Japan Post of receiving various preferential treatments in taxation and other areas and said its entry into a parcel delivery service market developed by private-sector companies is not fair.

Ikuta reiterated at the press club that its partnership with Lawson will not hamper private-sector competition because Japan Post accounts for only 6 percent of the entire parcel delivery service market.

“Instead of receiving favorable tax treatment, we face tough restrictions in running our businesses,” Ikuta said in defense. “Private companies claim we are damaging their businesses, but in fact they just want to avoid competition.”

“If we are told to do nothing despite the huge amount of resources we have, we will eventually face demise,” he said.

Japan Post, established in April 2003 as a government-backed corporation to take over the mail delivery, postal savings and life insurance business from the Postal Services Agency, is scheduled to be privatized in stages starting in 2007. The government plans to fully privatize the entity by 2017.