February 18, 2026 Licensing for Entry into Specified Correspondence Delivery Business

　The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) received the following applications: licensing for specified correspondence delivery business and approval to establish correspondence management regulations from 14 companies, including HOKUDEN ASSOCIA Co., Inc. (Representative Director: SHIGEMORI Minoru); approval to prepare correspondence delivery service terms and conditions from four companies, including HOKUDEN ASSOCIA Co., Inc.; and approval to change the business plan from Akita Ken Akabou Co., Ltd. (Representative Director: SUTOU Keiichi). The MIC consulted the Information and Communications and Posts Administrative Council, chaired by AIDA Hitoshi, specially appointed professor at the University of Tokyo, on these applications. The MIC received a report from the Council stating that it is appropriate to grant the licenses and approvals as consulted.
　In response to this report, the MIC has granted the relevant licenses and approvals as of today.

Note: The published materials are in Japanese only.

　Licensing 14 companies, including HOKUDEN ASSOCIA Co., Inc., brings the total to 651 specified correspondence delivery business operators. To meet the increasingly sophisticated and diverse user needs, the specified correspondence delivery business is positioned as a business that provides various services with originality and ingenuity. The entry of these businesses into the correspondence delivery business is expected to expand opportunities for users to choose from.