Japan limiting air-mail packages to the US

[kirkmc]

Saw this in another forum. It'll affect anyone in the US who wants to buy go equipment from Japan:



http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/ ... 117a5.html

453-gram limit on U.S.-bound mail

By MINORU MATSUTANI
Staff writer

Japan Post Services Co. said it will stop accepting airmail packages bound for the United States weighing 453 grams (1 pound) or more starting Wednesday because airlines will stop such delivery at the request of U.S. aviation authorities as part of antiterrorism measures.

The postal services arm of Japan Post Holdings Co. handles 16 million letters and packages by air and sea to the U.S. annually, and "15 percent of that will be affected," a Japan Post spokesman said. That means about 200,000 packages a month will be affected.

The company said it will accept packages from senders that use a service enabling them to pay after delivery instead of beforehand, a service designated for regular customers, even if a package weighs 453 grams or more. The company will notify the public of any changes in the situation, the spokesman said.

The Transportation Security Administration of the U.S. has informed air carriers of the 453-gram rule, and carriers notified Japan Post Services, the spokesman said. The rule applies not only to packages from Japan but from other countries.

[gaius]

Ughh, this "antiterrorism" insanity is going further and further. When will it end?

Fortunately, for go supplies, air mail isn't really necessary anyway. Shipping over sea still seems to work if I understand this correctly.

[kirkmc]

Ughh, this "antiterrorism" insanity is going further and further. When will it end?

Fortunately, for go supplies, air mail isn't really necessary anyway. Shipping over sea still seems to work if I understand this correctly.

When I bought my goban and stones from KGT, it was sent "air-speeded." That means air mail to cross the ocean, and non-priority mail the rest of the way. When I ordered some go books recently from Kiseido, they were sent air mail, and were certainly more than 1 lb.

[tchan001]

Kirkmc, you don't however live in the US. You live in France. Hence you can continue to get air delivery of your go purchases overseas for items over the limit.

The new limit may be a good thing for US go equipment importers who have their supplies shipped in bulk by sea. They will be able to fulfill their orders much quicker for US customers who want their orders fulfilled ASAP.

[kirkmc]

Kirkmc, you don't however live in the US. You live in France. Hence you can continue to get air delivery of your go purchases overseas for items over the limit.

The new limit may be a good thing for US go equipment importers who have their supplies shipped in bulk by sea. They will be able to fulfill their orders much quicker for US customers who want their orders fulfilled ASAP.

Thank you for reminding me where I live. I posted this for others who do live in the US.

[gowan]

If I recall correctly amazon.co.jp only ships by air to the US. It doesn't take too many books to weigh over one pound. Maybe they'll change their policy and will again allow shipping by boat in the future. They changed to air-only because of too many claims and returns due to lost or damaged goods from sea mail.

[kirkmc]

If I recall correctly amazon.co.jp only ships by air to the US. It doesn't take too many books to weigh over one pound. Maybe they'll change their policy and will again allow shipping by boat in the future. They changed to air-only because of too many claims and returns due to lost or damaged goods from sea mail.

That's odd. It must be specific to the JP-US route; and perhaps more likely to be at the JP end. I've been living in France for 25 years, and buy _lots_ of stuff from the US. I've had one package lost in all that time.

[Joaz Banbeck]

Books may be more dangerous than we realized.

On Thursday, a package addressed to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was returned by French Embassy officials in Athens to a courier service in the Athens area, where bomb experts detonated it. The explosives were hidden in a hollowed-out volume of the complete works of George Souris, a Greek satirical poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Agence France-Presse reported.

That, and other forms of mail bombs, have led the Greeks to shut down all outgoing packages - according to CNN this morning.

[gaius]

Books may be more dangerous than we realized.

On Thursday, a package addressed to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was returned by French Embassy officials in Athens to a courier service in the Athens area, where bomb experts detonated it. The explosives were hidden in a hollowed-out volume of the complete works of George Souris, a Greek satirical poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Agence France-Presse reported.

That, and other forms of mail bombs, have led the Greeks to shut down all outgoing packages - according to CNN this morning.

Why would this affect the Greek airmail policy? If they want to get this package to Sarkozy, they might as well send it from inside France...

[Joaz Banbeck]

Books may be more dangerous than we realized.

On Thursday, a package addressed to President Nicolas Sarkozy of France was returned by French Embassy officials in Athens to a courier service in the Athens area, where bomb experts detonated it. The explosives were hidden in a hollowed-out volume of the complete works of George Souris, a Greek satirical poet of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Agence France-Presse reported.

That, and other forms of mail bombs, have led the Greeks to shut down all outgoing packages - according to CNN this morning.

Why would this affect the Greek airmail policy? If they want to get this package to Sarkozy, they might as well send it from inside France...

You're perfectly correct, of course. It doesn't really prevent much, and no doubt will bankrupt some Greek companies that depend on exports in what is already a struggling economy.

I think that this is the Greek version of TSA security theater. They are trying to impress the government heads who will eventually vote on a EU bailouts.

[hyperpape]

UPDATE: Bull reports that the Japanese postal authorities have lifted the ban. They will resume shipments of over-one-pound parcels to the US, but say shippers should allow several extra days in transit, for screening and so on. Announcement of the change, in Japanese, here. When an English translation is ready, it will appear on their English site here. So, there are cases of security theater being undone. Encouraging in its modest way.

From James Fallows