Record low 363 million New Year postcards delivered on Jan 1

TOKYO — Japan Post Holdings said Friday that a record low number of New Year greeting postcards (nengajo) were delivered nationwide on Jan 1, marking the 17th consecutive year of decline.

Japan Post said about 363 million postcards were delivered, only 74% of last year's number.

Nengajo are postcards that Japanese people send to their friends and business acquaintances as a form of greeting at the end of the year. All nengajo postcards have lottery numbers on them, and the holders of the winning numbers can receive various prizes, which include some expensive items like travel tickets and electronic devices.

However, in this digital age, many people consider sending postcards as old school and prefer to send and receive nengajo by email or by some SNS apps, and even to attach a video clip to the nengajo.

Another factor in the declining number is a recent hike in postal rates.

In an effort to attract younger generations, Japan Post partnered with Google to offer a service on its website that uses generative AI to create New Year's cards.

© Japan Today