November 20, 2020 Approval to Change of International Postal Agreement due to Revision of the Regulations of Execution of the Universal Postal Convention

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) submitted an inquiry on November 13, 2020, to the Information and Communications Administration and Postal System Administration Council (chaired by TAGAYA Kazuteru, Professor Emeritus at Chiba University). This inquiry is on approval to a change of the International Postal Agreement of Japan Post Co., Ltd., which applied this change under the provisions of Article 68, Paragraph 1 of the Postal Act (Act No. 165 of 1947). MIC received a reply today from the Council stating its approval as inquired.
In response to the report, MIC approved this application today.

1. Background of application

The Postal Operations Council of the Universal Postal Union held a meeting in Bern (Switzerland) in February 2020, and the Postal Operations Council revised the Regulations of Execution of the Universal Postal Convention, which will come into effect on January 1, 2021.
Accordingly, Japan Post Co., Ltd. will change the relevant provisions of the International Postal Agreement to provide international postal services based on the revised Regulations of Execution of the Universal Postal Convention.

2. Contents of change

Article 16 of the International Postal Agreement stipulates restrictions on the size and weight of ordinary mail. The standards for the shape of small packages of regular mail have been revised. Therefore, Japan Post Co., Ltd. will change the relevant regulations.

3. Comparison table of new and old International Postal Agreement

The published material is in Japanese only.

4. Scheduled implementation date

January 1, 2020