Japan Post will continue to provide unified services

Japan Post President Masaharu Ikuta said he would not get involved in a debate over privatising the postal service, while emphasizing that they should continue to provide unified postal services nationwide.

Ikuta said he will concentrate on working at Japan Post and will not take any stance regarding an election pledge by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi for the September 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential election to fully privatise postal service operations by 2007.

Ikuta also said Japan Post should continue providing unified postal services nationwide regardless of its form of management. “Every nation provides universal (postal) services and it is important that citizens receive postal services equally,” he said. Ikuta said he is considering the concept of a “one-stop convenience office,” where it can provide local community services after local administrative offices and agricultural cooperatives’ offices withdraw in line with mergers of local governments. He added that Japan Post is already taking on such businesses as issuing certificates of residence on behalf of local governments.

Japan Post have recently reviewed postal services operations and widened areas of next-day delivery and extended delivery windows.

“While small package (mail) increased by 20% from the previous year, general mail, which consists of 90% of all of mail, decreased by about 2% due to such reasons as e-mail, placing the operations in very difficult position,” Ikuta said.