Photo/Illutration Mail deliverers carrying New Year’s cards leave the Shinjuku Post Office in Tokyo after a departing ceremony on Jan. 1. (Tomoya Fujita)

The estimated number of New Year’s cards delivered on Jan. 1 plunged 34 percent from a year ago--the steepest decline in more than 10 years--following a hike in postage fees.

Japan Post Co. said Jan. 1 it would deliver about 490.52 million cards that were dropped into postboxes in December, mainly dedicated postcards known as “nengajo,” on New Year’s Day.

The preliminary figure is less than half the number of New Year’s cards delivered on Jan. 1, 2022.

More than 2 billion nengajo arrived at the recipients’ homes on the first day of 2011.

Japan Post substantially raised postage fees in October for the first hike in 30 years, excluding increases in the consumption tax rate. The charge for a postcard rose from 63 yen to 85 yen.

The company issued 1.07 billion nengajo last year, which marked the 14th consecutive year of decline as more people are choosing to exchange New Year greetings by email and social media.

The postage hike is believed to have prompted additional people to discontinue the custom of sending nengajo, which feature numbers for a special lottery.

Hiroya Masuda, president of Japan Post Holdings Co., attended a departing ceremony for mail deliverers held at the Shinjuku Post Office in Tokyo on Jan. 1.

“The network of post offices is playing an increasingly important role in serving communities,” Masuda said. “I ask you to work in the New Year spirit of hospitality and deliver nengajo without fail.”

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