Japan Post: No Shipments to USA over 453g starting November 17th

[FG Lurker]

I just found out that Japan Post will no longer allow shipments (air or sea) to the USA if the total weight exceeds 453g. This new policy starts on Nov 17th -- yeah, in two days.

The only exception seems to be if you have a monthly payment contract with Japan Post. Full details in this Japanese press release.

So, if you have anything heavy to ship to the US and you don't have a monthly contract you should get to the post office ASAP...

[Mulboyne]

Lovely. Just in time for Christmas.

[FG Lurker]

Lovely. Just in time for Christmas.

I imagine there are going to be a lot of pissed off Americans. I hear that HK has announced similar limits for US-bound shipments and that other countries may be about to do likewise.

[Level3]

I assume this is the work of the US Dept. of Homeland Security in response to the printer ink bomb attempts.
Add this in with the complementary nutsack and vagina groping for all ages at the airports, and it's getting more and more clear that the DHS is run idiots.

FG Lurker, I think seamail is still as normal from how I'm reading the Japan Post pdf

Still no problem having a wide open border with Mexico though!

[Ketou]

America is well and truly down the road to a facist state. How many have died to terror attacks in the US in the last 5 years??

[FG Lurker]

FG Lurker, I think seamail is still as normal from how I'm reading the Japan Post pdf

Yeah, sorry about that. Sea mail isn't mentioned so it should still be okay. It looks like this is related to cargo being shipped on passenger flights.

[Samurai_Jerk]

You have got to be fucking kidding me. I'm really starting to hate being an American and to wish everyone I cared about would move abroad so I didn't have to ever go back.

[yarichin01]

This is fucked! Right before Christmas.
Does anyone know if this is just JP or are private shipping companies following suite as well?

[nikoneko]

Wow did something I haven't done in the almost 9 years I've read this board daily. Registered. (Took me 12 for slashdot so don't feel bad haha.)

Anyway we are a heavy mailer and got the full scoop on this over the last two days. Nobody knows how long it will last ("mo 6-7 ka getsu ka? ima wakaranai.."). Fune-bin (sea) is totally fine, but anything and everything by air is off-limits over 1 lb. And yes if you have a biz account and pay monthly you are completely exempt and can ship as normal to the US (was thinking of setting up a service for the poor gaijins without an account lol.) Basically the restriction applies to anything with a stamp on it.

Still nothing at all out there in English news about this. I am just waiting for the people who sell on ebay to flip out and start mass rioting.

[Level3]

I'd bet even money that private shippers like UPS and Fedex will happily continue shipping packages, because they have the financial sense (being private companies) to either efficiently screen packages for bombs (i.e. focus on camel jockey countries, there are no fucking bombs coming from Japan) or not screen at all, the tiny odds of a bomb and the cost to replace a plane vs. the time and cost of screening every single package.

I'd also bet the private shippers, knowing there's less competition, will also happily raise prices a bit.

So now the question is, is this the USA just banning all incoming packages, or is the USA suddenly putting up some kind of costly,bullshit requirement for outside countries to screen all packages headed for the USA, and Japan Post doesn't want to have to blow their budget on some kind of 100% screening system, especially since there are no bombs coming from Japan (just like the USA seemed to force electronic chips in passports onto other countries)

[Coligny]

Wow did something I haven't done in the almost 9 years I've read this board daily. Registered. (Took me 12 for slashdot so don't feel bad haha.)

If you want to impress me, tell me you registered a fark account...

(reading for the last 10 years...)
(posted maybe 3 times)

[nikoneko]

Haha no way, that place scares me and has for probably at least 10 years too. I can take hot-grits on slashdot and goat-fuckers on here, but fark... yeah not going there... That place is even too much for aforementioned goat-fuckers.

[FG Lurker]

Wow did something I haven't done in the almost 9 years I've read this board daily. Registered. (Took me 12 for slashdot so don't feel bad haha.)

Interesting username... I bet I know who you are based on it. ]Still nothing at all out there in English news about this. I am just waiting for the people who sell on ebay to flip out and start mass rioting.[/QUOTE]
It's going to be interesting. The strong yen/weak dollar has already caused so many problems for people I suspect this will be the final straw for some.

[davai-davai IV]

Terrorists are winning, aren't they?

453grams, envelop and postage included?
that leaves quite a volume available to include bio-hazardous materials, ts-ts-ts.
Will paranoia end some day?

[FG Lurker]

I'd bet even money that private shippers like UPS and Fedex will happily continue shipping packages, because they have the financial sense (being private companies) to either efficiently screen packages for bombs (i.e. focus on camel jockey countries, there are no fucking bombs coming from Japan) or not screen at all, the tiny odds of a bomb and the cost to replace a plane vs. the time and cost of screening every single package.

I suspect this restriction is about sending cargo on passenger planes. A lot of postal cargo goes on regularly scheduled flights while the private companies have their own planes. The result is that private couriers aren't impacted by restrictions like this.

I'd also bet the private shippers, knowing there's less competition, will also happily raise prices a bit.

Are you kidding? The private companies already charge 2x to 3x the price of EMS. They have no interest in working with individuals or even small businesses.

[nikoneko]

Interesting username... I bet I know who you are based on it. ]

Hah long day, I defaulted. It's been nine years, I should have spent some time thinking of the perfect FG username I suppose... Mc Tojo comes to mind. Oh wait...

It's going to be interesting. The strong yen/weak dollar has already caused so many problems for people I suspect this will be the final straw for some.

Well yeah it is interesting, put it in the bigger perspective. At the post office today an old lady was mailing something to her college grandkid, they went through the long EMS or etc explanation (as they always do) but tomorrow this doesn't happen. America has suddenly become KINSHI.

And as you say the endaka is such a problem who knows what it will do to those using it as a second job. All in all I'm thinking the post office workers (and probably quite a few FG) are sighing through their teeth.

[Kuang_Grade]

http://www.dhs.gov/ynews/releases/pr_1289237893803.shtm

Late last week, TSA directed industry carriers to begin implementing additional precautionary security measures for international flights inbound to the United States. These measures take effect today. Specifically, the ban on air cargo from Yemen will continue and has been extended to all air cargo from Somalia as well. In addition, no high risk cargo will be allowed on passenger aircraft. Toner and ink cartridges over 16 ounces will be prohibited on passenger aircraft in both carry-on bags and checked bags on domestic and international flights in-bound to the United States. This ban will also apply to certain inbound international air cargo shipments as well. Further, all cargo identified as high risk will go through additional and enhanced screening. These measures also impact inbound international mail packages, which must be screened individually and certified to have come from an established postal shipper.

It seems like DHS and/or Japan Post has decided that determining which packages are 'high-risk' was too difficult and decided that anything over a pound is a high risk package. Good think that becoming an established postal shipper is some grueling, long and drawn out process that rivals a gaijin becoming a J citizen and not something fairly mundane like merely filling out some forms, paying some fees and probably having a bank account.

[Bucky]

[FG Lurker]

This whole thing has shades of the "no liquids on planes" bullshit that started a few years ago. There has never been a threat from liquids on planes, and there is no more threat from toner cartridges than there is from any other reasonably sized item. The next bombs will be packed into vibrators and we'll see government announcements banning shipments of vibrators greater than 10" in length. The terrorist groups must be laughing their asses off.

[Yokohammer]

This whole thing has shades of the "no liquids on planes" bullshit that started a few years ago. There has never been a threat from liquids on planes, and there is no more threat from toner cartridges than there is from any other reasonably sized item. The next bombs will be packed into vibrators and we'll see government announcements banning shipments of vibrators greater than 10" in length. The terrorist groups must be laughing their asses off.

Exactly. The responses to these "threats" don't seem to be the result of much thought at all. Along similar lines: if a terrorist attempts to sneak a bomb aboard shoved up his ass (not entirely impossible), will the authorities rule that no more assholes are allowed on planes? Nah, they'd probably require all passengers to go through a rectal examination. That'd slow things down a bit.

Deliberately stupid example, but you get the point. It's a case of curing the symptom and not the cause.

[Greji]

That place is even too much for aforementioned goat-fuckers.

Huh?

[555]

This is correct. If you have an account, you're fine. Because they will know where to find me....

I'd like to help if I could but there are security aspects to consider, like, if something was sent that violated the prohibited goods list (batteries & other stuff), I would have no way of knowing what the person who I offered to 'help', had packed. That kinda concerns me.

[Taro Toporific]

This is correct. If you have an [EMS] account, you're fine....

Also note, many of you "lifer" FGs here may have a very old EMS account that you have forgotten about. For the first five years of the EMS (Japanese postal express service) everyone had to register.

I just got off the phone with my old post office in Totsuka Yokohama and they found my 15 year old EMS account without any problem and faxed me my old EMS account number.

[Coligny]

Exactly. The responses to these "threats" don't seem to be the result of much thought at all. Along similar lines: if a terrorist attempts to sneak a bomb aboard shoved up his ass (not entirely impossible), will the authorities rule that no more assholes are allowed on planes?

Will it extend to the almighty Cornhooolioooooo ?

[WesTokyo]

This affects all shipping companies according to a friend at DHL. If you are going to send a package to the US, you need to write the receiving party SS# on the shipping label.

You ID theft is bad now... wtf is the US doing?

[Mike Oxlong]

In related news...

A former executive of Japan Airlines International and two former executives of Nippon Cargo Airlines were indicted on Tuesday for allegedly participating in a global air cargo price-fixing conspiracy, the Justice Department said...

[FG Lurker]

This affects all shipping companies according to a friend at DHL. If you are going to send a package to the US, you need to write the receiving party SS# on the shipping label.

I've heard nothing about the SS#, that seriously sounds like an urban legend to me.

[FG Lurker]

I found out one other tidbit of information about this earlier today.

Just having a contract with JP isn't enough. You need to have had a contract for at least 30 days before you can ship items over 453g to the US. Contract approval takes 2 to 4 weeks (and I imagine they are pretty flooded with applications right now...), so realistically new applicants are looking at a 2 month wait before they can ship.

[nikoneko]

different subject but prescient:
http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/365686/november-15-2010/tsa-full-body-scanners---jeffrey-goldberg

"zero security airlines ... and our symbol would be like rolling dice"
"you have to use your brains"

[nikoneko]

I found out one other tidbit of information about this earlier today.

Just having a contract with JP isn't enough. You need to have had a contract for at least 30 days before you can ship items over 453g to the US. Contract approval takes 2 to 4 weeks (and I imagine they are pretty flooded with applications right now...), so realistically new applicants are looking at a 2 month wait before they can ship.

When we got ours it was a week or two until we met with our manager, an hour or two of talking about who we were, a bunch of caveats (if you go above 50 man a month there is a 50 man life of the account deposit required, ouch!), and a bunch of forms. Then a month or two later we got our card, so yeah what you said.. About par for the course for Japan I suppose.

He's a great guy though btw, which is also Japan I suppose, once we jumped through the hoops they have been incredible.