Latest news with #PostalAct
The Mainichi
22-05-2025
- The Mainichi
Japan Post worker arrested after allegedly phoning woman via number on package
TOKYO -- A Japan Post Co. employee was arrested May 21 after allegedly using personal information from a shipping label on a package to call a woman and tell her he was spying on her. Yoichi Nose, a 39-year-old resident of Tokyo's Ota Ward, was arrested by the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD)'s Kamata Police Station on suspicion of attempted coercion and violating the Postal Act. He is specifically accused of accessing the mobile phone number of a woman in her 20s written on the shipping label on a Letter Pack envelope while on delivery duty between Jan. 28 and 29, when he was working at Kamata Post Office in Ota Ward. He then allegedly called the woman on Jan. 31, saying things like, "I'm secretly filming your apartment," and, "Can I upload a video of you changing clothes on YouTube?" He also reportedly told her, "If you want me to stop, how about we meet at Kamata Station?" Investigative sources say the package was addressed to an airline company, where the woman was recently hired. According to the MPD, there was no prior relationship between Nose and the woman. He reportedly admitted to the charges, telling police, "I would have called any woman. I just wanted a reason to talk." Nose also ended the call without conveying a detailed meeting location, and reportedly told investigators, "Saying things to a woman one-sidedly got me excited." Police believe that Nose took photos on his smartphone of postal items addressed to or sent by women that showed their phone numbers and then calling them over the past four or five years. Around 100 pictures of such items, apparently taken since July 2023, were found on his confiscated smartphone. In response to inquiries, Japan Post told the Mainichi Shimbun, "We are still in the process of confirming the facts, so we will refrain from issuing any comments. We will cooperate with the investigation and take strict measures if the allegations are confirmed."
Telegraph
07-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Royal Fail: Britain's postal service is falling apart
Apart from Lurpak, Lego and Kierkegaard, Denmark, for all its admirable qualities, hasn't been much of a trendsetter for Britain. But now it might, and in a really bad way. Its state postal service, PostNord, is to stop delivering letters from next year to focus on parcels. So, after 400 years, there won't be any more letter deliveries and Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear. The number of letters Danes send has fallen from 1.4 billion in 2000 to 110 million last year. That's a 90 per cent fall in a quarter of a century; quite a big deal. Denmark is one of the most digitised countries on earth; most communication happens over a smartphone – which makes you wonder how people function if they lose them. But there is another factor, which may strike you as familiar. In Denmark, the introduction of a new Postal Act in 2024 opened up the letter market to competition from private firms and stamps are no longer exempt from VAT, resulting in higher postage costs: £3.35. 'When a letter costs 29 Danish krone (£3.35) there will be fewer letters,' PostNord Denmark's Managing Director, Kim Pedersen, observed. It is at this point that we should all sit up and start bothering. Because the PostNord man has summed up the problem. It's cause and effect: if you make a service unaffordable, fewer people will use it, and if fewer people use it, that becomes the rationale for making the service unavailable. The same genius argument has been used in Britain. Royal Mail wants to persuade Ofcom, the industry regulator, to allow it to reduce postal services drastically. Under the plans, there wouldn't be Saturday second class deliveries – only on alternate weekdays. Well, that's just great, isn't it? And let's remind ourselves at this point that a first class stamp is now £1.65 and a second class 85p. That only dawned on most people at Christmas when they found that their cards cost less than the price of a first class stamp. Not so long ago it was shocking when the price broke the pound barrier, but the increases since have been fast and inexorable. And yes, it is all, as in Denmark, down to privatisation. The latest brilliant plan for a worse and more expensive service follows the Government's go-ahead for a Czech billionaire, Daniel Kretinsky, to take over the service for £3.57 billion. The Tories started the rot by separating the Post Office from Royal Mail before privatising both, and presided over the astonishing increases in the cost of the service. Labour doesn't seem any more bothered. Second class post should not mean this much of a second class service. You expect a second class delivery to take a day or two longer, not three days a week. And any idiot can see that it won't be long before Royal Mail can make another Danish-style efficiency by closing its post boxes, or retaining them, as with old telephone boxes, for picturesque effect. Tried to use one lately? You'll find, if you're not an early bird, that the collection has been and gone at 9am, unless you're unlucky and it goes at 7am, Monday to Fridays. Stand by for the next big reveal, that the number of letters being dropped off in postboxes has gone into decline. Do they think we're stupid? Well, yes, of course they do. But let's point out now that if a letter dropped off in a postbox won't go anywhere until the following day, of course you're probably going to make your way to the nearest post office instead. It's way less convenient than a post box, with postmen doing the collecting, but tough; your convenience doesn't matter. We'll really miss the postal service if it goes the way of Denmark, and letters become a forgotten medium – along with handwriting, displaced by emails. But we can do something meanwhile. Ofcom would really love to hear from you: let them have it.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Royal Fail: Britain's postal service is falling apart
Apart from Lurpak, Lego and Kierkegaard, Denmark, for all its admirable qualities, hasn't been much of a trendsetter for Britain. But now it might, and in a really bad way. Its state postal service, PostNord, is to stop delivering letters from next year to focus on parcels. So, after 400 years, there won't be any more letter deliveries and Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear. The number of letters Danes send has fallen from 1.4 billion in 2000 to 110 million last year. That's a 90 per cent fall in a quarter of a century; quite a big deal. Denmark is one of the most digitised countries on earth; most communication happens over a smartphone – which makes you wonder how people function if they lose them. But there is another factor, which may strike you as familiar. In Denmark, the introduction of a new Postal Act in 2024 opened up the letter market to competition from private firms and stamps are no longer exempt from VAT, resulting in higher postage costs: £3.35. 'When a letter costs 29 Danish krone (£3.35) there will be fewer letters,' PostNord Denmark's Managing Director, Kim Pedersen, observed. It is at this point that we should all sit up and start bothering. Because the PostNord man has summed up the problem. It's cause and effect: if you make a service unaffordable, fewer people will use it, and if fewer people use it, that becomes the rationale for making the service unavailable. The same genius argument has been used in Britain. Royal Mail wants to persuade Ofcom, the industry regulator, to allow it to reduce postal services drastically. Under the plans, there wouldn't be Saturday second class deliveries – only on alternate weekdays. Well, that's just great, isn't it? And let's remind ourselves at this point that a first class stamp is now £1.65 and a second class 85p. That only dawned on most people at Christmas when they found that their cards cost less than the price of a first class stamp. Not so long ago it was shocking when the price broke the pound barrier, but the increases since have been fast and inexorable. And yes, it is all, as in Denmark, down to privatisation. The latest brilliant plan for a worse and more expensive service follows the Government's go-ahead for a Czech billionaire, Daniel Kretinsky, to take over the service for £3.57 billion. The Tories started the rot by separating the Post Office from Royal Mail before privatising both, and presided over the astonishing increases in the cost of the service. Labour doesn't seem any more bothered. Second class post should not mean this much of a second class service. You expect a second class delivery to take a day or two longer, not three days a week. And any idiot can see that it won't be long before Royal Mail can make another Danish-style efficiency by closing its post boxes, or retaining them, as with old telephone boxes, for picturesque effect. Tried to use one lately? You'll find, if you're not an early bird, that the collection has been and gone at 9am, unless you're unlucky and it goes at 7am, Monday to Fridays. Stand by for the next big reveal, that the number of letters being dropped off in postboxes has gone into decline. Do they think we're stupid? Well, yes, of course they do. But let's point out now that if a letter dropped off in a postbox won't go anywhere until the following day, of course you're probably going to make your way to the nearest post office instead. It's way less convenient than a post box, with postmen doing the collecting, but tough; your convenience doesn't matter. We'll really miss the postal service if it goes the way of Denmark, and letters become a forgotten medium – along with handwriting, displaced by emails. But we can do something meanwhile. Ofcom would really love to hear from you: let them have it. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
BBC News
06-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Denmark postal service to stop delivering letters
Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, is to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes since the start of the century. The decision brings to an end 400 years of the company's letter service. Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear from the start of June. Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen sought to reassure Danes, saying letters would still be sent and received as "there is a free market for both letters and parcels". Postal services across Europe are grappling with the decline in letter volumes. Germany's Deutsche Post said on Thursday it was axing 8,000 jobs, in what it called a "socially responsible manner". Deutsche Post has 187,000 employees and staff representatives said they feared more cuts were to come. Denmark had a universal postal service for 400 years until the end of 2023, but as digital mail services have taken hold, the use of letters has fallen dramatically. PostNord says it will switch its focus to parcel deliveries and that any postage stamps bought this year or in 2024 can be refunded for a limited period in 2026. Fifteen hundred workers facing losing their jobs, out of a workforce of 4,600. "It's a super sad day. Not just for our department, but for the 1,500 who face an uncertain future," employee Anders Raun Mikkelsen told Danish broadcaster DR. Denmark ranks as one of the world's most digitalised countries. There's an app for almost everything: few people use cash, and Danes even carry drivers' licences and health cards on their smartphones. Bank statements, bills, and correspondence from local authorities are all sent electronically. Public services send communications via a Digital Post app or other platforms and PostNord Denmark says the letter market is no longer profitable. Letter numbers have fallen since the start of the century from 1.4 billion to 110 million last year. The decision will affect elderly people most. Although 95% of Danes use the Digital Post service, a reported 271,000 people still rely on physical mail. "There are many who are very dependent on letters being delivered regularly. These include hospital appointments, vaccinations or decisions regarding home care," Marlene Rishoj Cordes, from Aeldre Sagen (DaneAge) told Denmark's TV2. PostNord has weathered years of financial struggles and last year was running a deficit. Danish MP Pelle Dragsted blamed privatisation for the move and complained the move would disadvantage people living in remote areas. The introduction of a new Postal Act in 2024 opened up the letter market to competition from private firms and mail is no longer exempted from VAT, resulting in higher postage costs. "When a letter costs 29 Danish krone (£3.35; $4.20) there will be fewer letters," PostNord Denmark's Managing Director, Kim Pedersen, told local media. He said Danes had become increasingly digital and the decline in letter volumes had become so pronounced that it had fallen by as much as 30% in the past year alone. PostNord also operates in Sweden. It is 40% Danish-owned and 60% Swedish-owned.
Yahoo
06-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Denmark postal service to stop delivering letters
Denmark's state-run postal service, PostNord, is to end all letter deliveries at the end of 2025, citing a 90% decline in letter volumes since the start of the century. The decision brings to an end 400 years of the company's letter service. Denmark's 1,500 post boxes will start to disappear from the start of June. Transport Minister Thomas Danielsen sought to reassure Danes, saying letters would still be sent and received as "there is a free market for both letters and parcels". Postal services across Europe are grappling with the decline in letter volumes. Germany's Deutsche Post said on Thursday it was axing 8,000 jobs, in what it called a "socially responsible manner". Deutsche Post has 187,000 employees and staff representatives said they feared more cuts were to come. Denmark had a universal postal service for 400 years until the end of 2023, but as digital mail services have taken hold, the use of letters has fallen dramatically. Fifteen hundred workers facing losing their jobs, out of a workforce of 4,600. "It's a super sad day. Not just for our department, but for the 1,500 who face an uncertain future," employee Anders Raun Mikkelsen told Danish broadcaster DR. Denmark ranks as one of the world's most digitalised countries. There's an app for almost everything: few people use cash, and Danes even carry drivers' licences and health cards on their smartphones. Bank statements, bills, and correspondence from local authorities are all sent electronically. Public services send communications via a Digital Post app or other platforms and PostNord Denmark says the letter market is no longer profitable. Letter numbers have fallen since the start of the century from 1.4 billion to 110 million last year. The decision will affect elderly people most. Although 95% of Danes use the Digital Post service, a reported 271,000 people still rely on physical mail. "There are many who are very dependent on letters being delivered regularly. These include hospital appointments, vaccinations or decisions regarding home care," Marlene Rishoj Cordes, from Aeldre Sagen (DaneAge) told Denmark's TV2. PostNord has weathered years of financial struggles and last year was running a deficit. Danish MP Pelle Dragsted blamed privatisation for the move and complained the move would disadvantage people living in remote areas. The introduction of a new Postal Act in 2024 opened up the letter market to competition from private firms and mail is no longer exempted from VAT, resulting in higher postage costs. "When a letter costs 29 Danish krone (£3.35; $4.20) there will be fewer letters," PostNord Denmark's Managing Director, Kim Pedersen, told local media. He said Danes had become increasingly digital and the decline in letter volumes had become so pronounced that it had fallen by as much as 30% in the past year alone. The company said it would switch its focus to parcel deliveries and that any postage stamps bought this year or in 2024 could be refunded for a limited period in 2026. PostNord also operates in Sweden. It is 40% Danish-owned and 60% Swedish-owned.
