Japan Post
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2008-07-15T13:16:08Z
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{{Otheruses4|the former operator of postal services in Japan|the current operator|Japan Post Holdings}}
{{Infobox Company
| company_name = Japan Post<br /><small>日本郵政公社</small>
| company_logo = [[Image:Japan post logo.png|200px|Logo]]
| company_type = [[Government-owned corporation|Government-owned]]
| foundation = [[2003]]
| location_city = Tokyo
| location_country = Japan
| key_people = [[Maejima Hisoka]]
| industry = [[Courier]]
| revenue = {{profit}} ¥23,061 billion [[Japanese yen|JPY]] ([[2006]])
| net_income = {{profit}} ¥1,993 billion [[Japanese yen|JPY]] ([[2006]])
| num_employees = 256,572 ([[full-time]], [[2006]])
| divisions = Postal Service, Postal Savings, Postal Life Insurance
| homepage = [http://www.japanpost.jp/en/ www.japanpost.jp]
}}
{{nihongo|'''Japan Post'''|日本郵政公社|Nippon Yūsei Kōsha}} was a public corporation in [[Japan]], that existed from 2003–2007, offering postal and package delivery services, banking services, and life insurance. It had over 400,000 [[employee]]s and ran 24,700 [[post office]]s throughout Japan and was the nation's largest employer. One third of all Japanese government employees worked for Japan Post. As of 2005, the president of the company was [[Masaharu Ikuta]], formerly chairman of [[Mitsui O.S.K. Lines|Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Ltd]].
Japan Post ran the world's largest [[Postal savings systems|postal savings system]] and was often said to be the largest holder of personal savings in the world: with ¥224 trillion ($2.1 trillion) of household assets in its ''yū-cho'' savings accounts and ¥126 trillion ($1.2 trillion) of household assets in its ''kampo'' life insurance services, its holdings account for 25 percent of household assets in Japan. Japan Post also held about ¥140 trillion (one fifth) of the Japanese national debt in the form of government bonds.
On October 1, 2007 Japan Post was [[privatization|privatized]] following fierce political debate that was settled by the [[Japan general election, 2005|2005 general election]]. After the privatization, the [[Japan Post Group]] companies operate the postal business.
==Postal privatization==
The company was born on [[April 2]], [[2003]], as a public corporation, replacing the old {{nihongo|Postal Services Agency|郵政事業庁|Yūsei Jigyōchō}}. Japan Post's formation was part of then [[Prime Minister of Japan|Prime Minister]] [[Junichiro Koizumi]]'s long-term reform plan which would culminate in the full [[privatization]] of the postal service. The privatization plan encounters both support and opposition across the Japanese political spectrum, including the two largest parties, [[Liberal Democratic Party (Japan)|LDP]] and [[Democratic Party of Japan|DPJ]]. Opponents claim that the move would result in the closure of post offices and in job losses at the nation's largest employer. However, proponents contend that privatization would allow for a more efficient and flexible use of the company's funds that would help revitalize Japan's economy, which is still recovering from a series of four recessions since 1991. Proponents also claim that Japan Post has become an enormous source of corruption and patronage. Koizumi calls the privatization a major part in his efforts to curb government spending and the growth of the national debt. Most opposition parties support postal privatisation, but not Koizumi's bill. Many consider the bill deeply flawed with too long a time for full implementation and too many loopholes that might create a privatization in name only.
In September 2003, Koizumi's cabinet proposed splitting Japan Post into four separate companies: a bank, an insurance company, a postal service company, and a fourth company to handle the post offices as retail storefronts of the other three. Each of these companies would be privatized in April 2007. In 2005, a bill to complete this reform passed the [[lower house]] of the [[Japanese Diet|Japanese legislature]] by a handful of votes, with many people from Koizumi's LDP defecting. The bill was subsequently defeated in the [[House of Councillors|upper house]] (which cannot be dissolved) because of scores of defections from the ruling coalition. Koizumi immediately dissolved the lower house and scheduled [[Japan general election, 2005|nationwide elections]] to be held on [[September 11]], [[2005]]. He declared the election to be a referendum on postal privatization. Koizumi subsequently won this election, gaining the necessary [[supermajority]] and a mandate for reform, and in October 2005, the bill was passed to privatize Japan Post in 2007.<ref>Takahara, "All eyes on Japan Post"{{cite news | first = Anthony | last = Faiola | title = Japan Approves Postal Privatization | url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/10/14/AR2005101402163.html | work = Washington Post | publisher = The Washington Post Company | page = A10 | date = [[2005-10-15]] | accessdate = 2007-02-09}}</ref>
==Types of post office==
There are two types of postal facilities in Japan: standard {{nihongo|post offices|郵便局|yūbinkyoku}}, and {{nihongo|distribution centers|集配局|shūhaikyoku}}. Most post offices are not distribution centers; only the larger offices are. Distribution centers also offer a wider range of services for businesses than normal post offices.
==Postal symbol==
[[Image:Japanese post box.jpg|thumb||Mailbox markings]]
The symbol of a post office in Japan is a capital letter T with a bar over it, [[〒]]. This is used on the signs of post offices, on post boxes, and it is also sometimes used before the postcode on letters. This mark is derived from the Japanese word "Teishin". <ref>[http://www.pref.kyoto.jp/visitkyoto/en/info_required/travel_info/post_offices/ Kyoto region English sightseeing website]</ref> The symbol can be obtained by typing ''yuubin'' in a Japanese word processor and then converting it. There are several [[Japanese typographic symbols#Organization-specific symbols|variant forms]] of this symbol in [[Unicode]], including a form in a circle, 〶, which is the official [[Geographical Survey Institute of Japan]] [[Japanese map symbols|map symbol]] for a post office.
〠 is a character of Japan Post. Its name is Number-[[Japanese titles#Kun|kun]]. Japan Post released a new character, "Poston," in 1998, so Number-kun is rarely used nowadays.
==See also==
*[[Japanese addressing system]]
*[[Package delivery]]
==References==
* [http://www.japanpost.jp/top/disclosure/e2006/index.html Japan Post Annual Report 2006]
{{reflist}}
==External links==
*{{cite web
| last = Takahara
| first = Kanako
| date = [[September 29]], [[2007]]
| url = http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070929f1.html
| title = All eyes on Japan Post as privatization begins
| format = Newspaper article
| work = [[Japan Times]]
| publisher =
| language =
| accessdate = 2008-02-01
}}
{{wikinewspar|Koizumi wins electoral mandate for postal reform}}
*[http://news.ft.com/cms/s/f164c3a0-07cb-11da-97a6-00000e2511c8.html Koizumi loses postal reform vote in Upper House, calls for new elections]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4651155.stm Koizumi wins postal reform vote in Lower House]
*{{En}} [http://www.japanpost.jp/en/ Company Website]
**[http://www.post.japanpost.jp/english/index.html Post]
**[http://www.yu-cho.japanpost.jp/e_index.htm Bank]
**[http://www.kampo.japanpost.jp/ Insurance] {{jp icon}}
*[http://biz.yahoo.com/ic/52/52301.html Yahoo! - Japan Post Company Profile]
[[Category:Postal organisations]]
[[Category:Companies based in Tokyo]]
[[de:Japan Post]]
[[es:Servicio Postal de Japón]]
[[eo:Japana poŝto]]
[[fr:Japan Post]]
[[ko:일본우정공사]]
[[id:Japan Post]]
[[ja:日本郵政公社]]
[[zh:日本郵政公社]]