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Japan Post said Wednesday it expected to deliver about 1.28 billion nengajo (New Year greeting cards) nationwide on New Year's Day. Deliveries started at around 8 a.m.
The figure is about 10% fewer than last year, the 11th straight year of decline, as more people are using social networking services and email to create and send their own cards, or don’t bother with the custom anymore.
According to Japan Post, the bulk of nengajo are delivered on Jan 1, with the rest being delivered over the next 10 days.
Japan Post hires legions of temp workers to deliver the cards. They can be seen whizzing around the cities on bicycles and scooters, delivering cards to offices and households.
© Japan Today
9 Comments
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ClippetyClop
Headline should be, "Japan Post starts AND FINISHES delivering about 1.28 billion ‘nengajo'. Quite an impressive logistical feat, but the staff of Japan Post are some determined puppies.
@Bugle Boy, I like your mischief, will try it. I noticed that two of my nengajo actually came from the post office folks themselves
englisc aspyrgend
Sustainably sourced paper is more environmentally friendly than electronic devices or the energy needed to run them!
Tora
LOL!!!
rgcivilian1
I hope this tradition stays alive and that the younger generation keeps it going.
Bugle Boy of Company B
For some cheap entertainment, take one of the nengajo you receive and toss it back in a post box. For nengajo, they don't post-stamp them, so they don't know it has already been delivered. Have a contest with a friend and see how many times you can get it delivered before the end of the season!
Spitfire
What a complete waste of paper and resources delivering these cards.In this day and age they have become almost obsolete.
TheRat
128 billion is still a lot, but as young people never send these out and often do not have friends, this might be a dying tradition.