Japan Post Places Restrictions on Shipments to the United States
Americans in Japan who were thinking of mailing holiday presents to their family members in the States are going to have some trouble this year. Japan Post has enacted new restrictions that ban the mailing of packages that weigh over 453 grams (16 ounces / one pound):
The Japan Post Office announced November 12 that from November 17 it would indefinitely stop accepting mail parcels to the United States weighing more than 453 grams. The Post Office has at this time given no indication of how long this suspension will last only saying that it is “for the time being.” This suspension includes all regular international airmail parcels, as well as EMS. The Japan Post Office (JPO) has cut Japan off from the US entirely, at least as far as airmail parcels over a pound in weight go. The reason the JPO gives for this action is that following attempts to send explosives through air cargo from Yemen to the US, American security measures for air cargo have become increasingly severe. America and Guam are included in this provision, raising the strong possibility that Christmas and year end parcels will not be able to be sent from Japan to the US, which is likely to cause massive confusion.
You can read the official announcement here (in Japanese).
Update: I’ve noticed a lot of comments from people worried about being able to order anime or cd’s from Japan. It should be noted that this rule does not appear to restrict business shipping accounts.
LB has also offered the following correction:
According to Japan Post, and it actually says this in the right-hand column of the .pdf file James linked to, packages exceeding 1 pound (454 grams) in weight will not be accepted if they are posted through a mailbox outside a post office. If the sender brings the package into the post office personally, has it weighed, postage calculated and the post office puts the “postage paid” label on it (not stamps) there is no problem.
So you cannot just stick 2,700 yen in stamps on a 500 – 1,000 gram package, write “SAL” on the box and drop it into the mailbox in front of the post office. I don’t know too many people who do that anyway. Just take your box inside, let them weigh it and all should be well unless the idiot behind the counter cannot read Japanese well enough to understand what is written on Japan Post’s own announcement.
If anyone has tried to mail a package from a counter and been told that it is not permitted, please leave a comment and let us know.
Update 2: Reader rhi has spoken to somebody at Japan Post and received some more information.
I actually called the english service line to ask about the “correction”, and apparently walking into a post office in person will still not get your more-that-4whatever-gram package mailed. According to the lady I talked to, anyway. The only way they still accept packages over the new limit is if you have a special kind of account. This isn’t a bank account, but rather an account for frequent shippers, mostly business though individuals can use it too. I’ve forgotten the name of it already, but if you have an account where you pay at the end of the month for all the packages you sent and send a certain amount each month, then you probably have it and they will still accept your packages.
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