Photo/Illutration Hiroya Masuda, president of Japan Post Holdings Co., introduces the new 1-yen stamp featuring the mascot character, Posukuma, during an online news conference on Jan. 28. (Tomoya Fujita)

The “father” of Japan’s modern postal system is facing competition from a furry rival in a market he has monopolized for seven decades.

Japan Post will issue the first new 1-yen (1 cent) postage stamp in 70 years on April 14, featuring its bear mascot character, Posukuma. The mascot’s name combines the Japanese word “kuma” (bear) with “post.”

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The 1-yen stamp featuring Hisoka Maejima has been the only available design for 70 years. A part of the image has been deliberately struck through. (Provided by Japan Post Co.)

The portrait of Hisoka Maejima (1835-1919), who served as head of the nation’s postal administration for 11 years, has been the only design available for the denomination since the current design was adopted in 1951.

Maejima holds a unique place in the pages of history. Many Japan Post officials said his portrait was the sole design option as the face of the 1-yen stamp.

Japan started postal service between Tokyo and Osaka 150 years ago, in March 1871, at Maejima’s proposal. A bureaucrat at the finance and home ministries, Maejima also handpicked the Japanese words “yubin” (post) and “yubin kitte” (postal stamp).

A postal service official called the introduction of the Posukuma version an “event of historic significance.”

Hiroya Masuda, president of Japan Post Holdings Co., eventually overrode resistance within Japan Post on the back of customer requests for an alternative design.

“(The new stamp) will be loved by young children,” he said at a news conference on Jan. 28.

Demand has grown for stamps of smaller denominations. Postal charges have increased in increments of several yen after the consumption tax was introduced in 1989 and its rate was later revised three times.

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The new 1-yen stamp featuring Posukuma will go on sale on April 14. Parts of the image have been deliberately struck through. (Provided by Japan Post Co.)

When the consumption tax rate was raised from 8 percent to 10 percent in October 2019, the letter postage fee increased by 2 yen to 84 yen and the postcard postage charge by 1 yen to 63 yen.

Officials at post offices and elsewhere have received customer requests for a 1-yen stamp of different designs, including something “cute.”

Masuda told the news conference that he also saw “potentially high demand” for a redesigned stamp after coming across similar requests in the letters sections of newspapers.

In a letter published in The Asahi Shimbun’s “Voice” section in February 2020, a 76-year-old homemaker said, “I cannot help feeling discomfited by Maejima’s stern look when I place a 1-yen stamp alongside other stamps.”

Referring to that letter, a 17-year-old schoolgirl also wrote: “I know I am being rude, but I would say I somehow feel demotivated when I place a stamp with (Maejima’s) imposing portrait.”

The 1-yen stamp featuring Posukuma will be sold only as a sheet of 50 stamps.

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