Japan Post starts sales of 2027 New Year’s cards

Japan Post on Monday started selling New Year’s lottery postcards for 2027 at post offices and other outlets across the country.

On Dec. 20, it will begin accepting the cards for New Year’s Day delivery, with the deadline for ensuring such delivery set at Dec. 27, two days later than in previous years. The change came as people have been preparing and mailing New Year’s cards later in recent years.

The sales period was also extended by about five days through Jan. 15.

With the spread of social media, the trend of people giving up the custom of sending New Year’s cards has accelerated. The initial number of cards printed for 2027 was 555.92 million, down 25.7% from the previous year, marking the 16th straight year of decline. The figure is about one-eighth of the record high registered in 2004.

A third-grade elementary school boy who visited the Tokyo Central Post Office in the Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward with his mother said he wanted to send a card to his grandparents and that he sends New Year’s cards to his relatives every year.