Japan Post: Mailing Packages Within Japan

[Updated 11 June 2020 - Original article: 15 April 2007 - http://www.tokyowithkids.com/fyi/japanpost/packageswithinjapan.html]

Official Japan Post web site: http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/ They have been adding a little bit from time to time in English, but the bulk of the website is really still in Japanese only. It is improving!

Yu-Pak has size restrictions that are fairly generous and a 30kilogram weight limit. Yu-pak has different rates depending on zones. The maximum size is A+B+C=170cm. This service is translated into English here.

Letter-Pack Plus is a flat 520 yen rate within the whole of Japan. It has a tracking number. You buy the pre-paid cardboard envelope at the post office and then can use it at any time. The Letter Pack Plus envelope can hold as much as you can stuff in and still seal, up to 4kg weight. If it is thicker than 3cm you will not be able to fit it into a red Post Box slot. You will need to take it to the window at a Post Office. Here is a picture on the Japan Post web site.

Letter-Pack Light is a flat 370 yen rate prepaid thin cardboard envelope good within the whole of Japan. The thckness is limited to 3cm. The latest price is as of August 2019. It has the advantage that it can easily be posted from a letterbox. It has a tracking number. Letter Pack 370 can be purchased on-line in packages of 20

Smart Letter is slightly larger than A5 size and is limited to 2cm thickness. The pre-paid cost is 180 yen within all of Japan. If you are mailing a heavy book that fits, the weight limit is 1kg. So it can be much cheaper than ordinary first class mail rates. It does not have tracking. There is no English description on the JP web site but you can see a photo here.

There is a tracking service in English for all products that are sold with tracking, including international EMS up to the point of departure from Japan.

Private Package Delivery Services

Takyubin refers to non-Japan Post package delivery services such as Yamato (often refered to as "Kuronekko" (Black Cat), Sagawa, etc. These are used for all regular packages and also for all oversized items that Japan Post will not handle such as refrigerators, pianos, pets, and so on. There are many of these companies, and some in fact specialize. There is even a sub-category service called Baikubin which refers to delivery by motorbike.

Most Takyubin services provide chakubarai form of payment for shipping option. But in order to use COD (daibiki) one must go through a registration process. Some people who have tried, ran into trouble apparently because they were not a registered company. But it is not clear that this is the real reason, since there are people with home businesses who have set up accounts. This bears further research.

Kuronekko (Black Cat) also offers letter delivery service called Mail-bin! (NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO PRIVATE INDIVIDUALS).
Here are comments by Yamato Kuronekko regarding the discontinuation of the service posted on 12 Nov. 2015.
"Our Response
Kuroneko Mail-Bin was heavily used since its launch in 1997 and reached a volume of 2.1 billion items and sales of 120 billion yen in 2014 – a valuable and profitable business.
However, from 2009 onward, there were instances of customers being questioned by the police and having charges filed on suspicion of infringing upon postal law by sending correspondence by Kuroneko Mail-Bin.
Therefore in 2011 we began to warn customers and get them to sign to verify that they were not sending correspondence, and also made the case that the system should be changed so that even if correspondence was sent, only the delivery company would be penalized, but even after that the number of cases of charges being filed rose to eight.
We decided that under the existing system, in order to not risk customers continuing to unknowingly break the law by sending correspondence via Kuroneko Mail-Bin, we would reflect our precious customer-first policy and social responsibility and discontinue the service.
It was certainly not discontinued because it was unprofitable."

Shipping Cost Paid by Receivor vs. COD

A lot of people confuse the terms chakubarai and daibiki.

Chakubarai is quite straighforward. It is also available from most Takyubin services as well as from Japan Post. It simply means that for a small fee (20 yen) the post office will collect the cost of mailing the item from the person receiving the package. In addition they will also mail a return postcard to the sendor notifying them of safe delivery. It is available for Yu-pak and also for printed matter (Insatsubutsu).

Daibiki is more complicated. It refers to what is commonly known as COD in the USA (cash on delivery), and means that the Postal Service collects payment for the items inside the package as well as the shipping costs. It means that the agent needs to somehow return the collected money to the sendor. This is done by the sender having a Postal Savings Account. If you don't have a Postal Savings Account, then you can not use the Daibiki service. Also, filling out the form is more complicated for people who do not read and write Japanese. There are several additional charges on top of the actual amount to be collected and the shipping cost. For example, in addition to the "daibiki" service fee of 260 yen there is also the JP bank account deposit charge of 200 yen for amounts under 50,000 yen and 410 yen for amounts over 50,000 yen. Insurance can also be purchased. From February 2016 it became possible to have the money deposited into a non Japan Post Bank account.

Below is a picture of the form used for daibiki packages.



There are other options for businesses or people who do a lot of shipping, involving special accounts and so on.

Japan With Kids - Forums: Consumer Reports: Moving and delivery companies
Japan With Kids - Forums: General Discussions: Postal system (and post office banking)

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