Japan mail volume seen plunging due to spread
The state-run mail delivery service is expected to see a decrease of up to 1.2 billion postcards and letters over five years from fiscal 2002 due to the widespread use of e-mail, according to a recent Postal Services Agency estimate.
The number of postcards and letters handled by the service increased for the seventh consecutive year in fiscal 2001.
In fiscal 2001 that ended in March, the volume rose by 200 million to 26.7 billion items over the previous year partly because telecommunications operators mailed contracts to subscribers in connection with a new service called “Myline” in which users can be connected to their preferred carrier without dialing prefix numbers.
But the spread of information technology (IT) such as the Internet will begin to seriously affect mail delivery in the coming years, the agency said.
If IT affects mail delivery to the greatest possible extent, the number of postcards and letters delivered by the mail service will drop to 25.5 billion in fiscal 2006.
Assuming that IT will have no effect on mail delivery, the agency predicted the volume will reach 27.8 billion items in fiscal 2006, up 1.1 billion from fiscal 2001.
