Latest news with #HiroyaMasuda
Asahi Shimbun
14 hours ago
- Automotive
- Asahi Shimbun
Japan Post loses trucking license for 2,500 trucks for 5 years
The transport ministry's Kanto District Transport Bureau in Yokohama issued a notice revoking Japan Post Co.'s general transport license under the Trucking Business Law on June 25 for failure to properly check on the health of its drivers, including for drunkenness. Japan Post's approximately 2,500 trucks and vans, which are responsible for the shipment of goods between pickup and delivery locations and collecting items at large urban post offices, will be out of service for five years. Upon receiving the notice, Tetsuya Senda, president of Japan Post, said, 'I apologize for the great concern and anxiety caused to many people.' He pledged that the management team will take the lead in taking measures to prevent a recurrence. Japan Post Holdings, the parent company of Japan Post, held a general shareholders' meeting on June 25. President Hiroya Masuda apologized to shareholders, saying, 'I take this situation extremely seriously.' Japan Post has previously announced that it is in the process of outsourcing approximately 58 percent of its approximately 2,500 general cargo vehicles to Yamato Transport Co., Sagawa Express Co. and Seino Transportation Co. in addition to its subsidiary Japan Post Transport Co. The company plans to substitute in its own light cargo vehicles for the remaining 42 percent. In response to the administrative action, Japan Post released a statement that said, 'We will do our utmost to restore the trust of our customers by thoroughly establishing a system to ensure the safety of operations and the safety of drivers and customers, including implementing reliable roll calls.'
18 hours ago
- Business
Japan Post Holdings Chief Apologizes for Improper Driver Checks
News from Japan Jun 25, 2025 14:54 (JST) Tokyo, June 25 (Jiji Press)--Outgoing Japan Post Holdings Co. President Hiroya Masuda apologized at a general shareholders' meeting on Wednesday for subsidiary Japan Post Co.'s improper alcohol and other checks on its drivers. "We'll make every effort to avoid disrupting mail and parcel delivery operations and causing inconvenience (to customers)," Masuda said at the beginning of the meeting. The meeting was attended by 285 shareholders, down from 336 at last year's meeting, and lasted one hour and 45 minutes, 13 minutes longer than last year. Many shareholders urged the Japan Post group to strengthen governance. All two management proposals were approved, including the appointment as directors of new Japan Post Holdings President Kazuyuki Negishi and new Japan Post President Shinya Koike. After regulatory-required driver checks were found to have been conducted improperly at post offices across Japan, the transport ministry carried out a special inspection and decided to revoke Japan Post's transport business license. [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Yomiuri Shimbun
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Post Offices' Improper Roll Calls for Drivers: Deep-rooted Culture of Disregard for Laws and Regulations
Another large-scale violation of laws and regulations has been uncovered at the Japan Post Group. Why is there a spate of scandals at one of Japan's largest organizations? The new management team must determine the root cause. Japan Post Co. has announced that it failed to properly conduct roll calls for drivers of delivery vehicles at about 2,400 locations, or 75% of its nationwide post offices that offer collection and delivery services. The Motor Truck Transportation Business Law requires operators to conduct roll calls for drivers before and after each ride to confirm their health and whether they are under the influence of alcohol, among other concerns. It is unacceptable to neglect safety measures for postal vehicles driving in towns. There have been many cases in which records were fabricated to pretend that roll calls were conducted, according to Japan Post. It is obvious that an atmosphere of disregard for laws and regulations pervaded the workplaces. In addition to the workplaces, there is also a serious lack of governance in the company as a whole. Japan Post's head office and branch offices only confirmed roll calls through documents. The Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry has begun a special audit of Japan Post. If irregularities are confirmed, the ministry intends to take actions such as suspending the use of vehicles at those post offices. All of the wrongdoing should be eliminated from the company. The postal services were privatized in 2007. Subsequently, in 2019, inappropriate contracting by Japan Post Insurance Co. on a large scale was uncovered and became a social problem. In March this year, too, the misappropriation of customer information for about 10 million people at post offices and other facilities across Japan also came to light. It has been pointed out that one of the reasons behind the spate of scandals at Japan Post Holdings Co. is that it still retains the corporate culture from the time when it was a government corporation. It has been noted that Japan Post has effectively maintained a monopoly in the mail delivery business and tends to lose its sense of urgency due to a lack of competition. Of the about 24,000 post offices nationwide, more than three-quarters are former government-commissioned special post offices. The national association of postmasters, mainly made up of the directors of these post offices, is a powerful support base for the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, and it has the power to greatly influence management. After privatization, successive presidents who were brought in from the outside were forced to consider the wishes of former government-commissioned special post offices and have struggled to spread their management policies to the rank and file. Efforts for management efficiency and a thorough awareness of legal compliance were also insufficient. Hiroya Masuda, the president of Japan Post Holdings, who took up the post in 2020, is scheduled to step down in June amid the continuing scandals. He will be succeeded by Kazuyuki Negishi, a managing executive officer of Japan Post Holdings. This will be the first time since privatization that a former postal bureaucrat is appointed as president from inside. Negishi may have an advantage because he is familiar with the postal business. He should demonstrate leadership to promote reforms with a sense of urgency that the businesses will lose the public's trust if things continue as they are. (From The Yomiuri Shimbun, April 30, 2025)
