Last month, it was discovered that a deliveryman working at a post office in Saitama Prefecture had opened the locked mailbox when delivering packages.


Japan Post warned post offices nationwide not to do this on the 17th, saying it was an inappropriate act.

Last month, a woman from Saitama Prefecture posted a post on NHK's information service "News Post" saying, "I was able to open a mailbox with a key at home and put in non-standard-size mail. The same thing happened three times, and I'm scared." It was sent.



In response to this, NHK interviewed Japan Post, and the deliveryman in charge of the area where the woman lived opened the locked mailbox without permission because the luggage was too large to fit in the mailbox. I found out.

The key to this mailbox is a type that opens and closes by turning the dial and matching the numbers. According to Japan Post, the deliveryman said, "I opened the mail when I turned the dial, so I put in the mail. Redelivery is the responsibility of the user. I didn't think it was a bad thing because it would be. "



He also explained that he had opened the mailbox of this house twice in the same way before this.



This mailbox is a type that unlocks by combining two numbers, and when locking, if you do not turn the dial more than one turn, you may be able to open it by just matching one number.



Japan Post warned post offices nationwide not to do this on the 17th, saying that it was inappropriate to open the locked mailbox and deliver the parcel.



Japan Post commented, "I'm sorry for making you feel very uncomfortable," and we are thoroughly preventing recurrence and investigating whether there are other similar cases.

A woman who sent information "I was scared because I didn't know what was done"

This issue was covered by the information sent to NHK's information service "News Post".



The information was sent by a woman from Saitama prefecture.



Last month, when I returned from work and opened my mailbox, I found a box that was sized to never fit in the mailbox.



What was in the box was a product that my husband ordered over the Internet and was delivered by mail.

A woman who was convinced that "this time it was definitely locked" because there were two times that there was mail that was the size that would definitely fit if the key was not unlocked.



I was suspicious that the deliveryman had opened the mailbox without permission in some way, so I contacted the Japan Post window and sent information to NHK.



When NHK interviewed Japan Post based on the information, the deliveryman admitted to the company's hearing that he had turned the dial to unlock the mailbox.



The woman said, "I was scared because I didn't know what I was doing because I had a baggage that was too big to fit in. I definitely don't want you to do this."

Multiple posts similar to SNS "unpleasant feelings"

On SNS, "The postman who comes to us, the post with a key, open it normally and push it in" or "Turn the post of the house with a dial-type key as if nothing happened. As in this case, there are several voices pointing out that the locked mailbox was opened, such as "I opened it and put in the mailbox."



In addition, there are voices complaining that they felt uncomfortable, such as "How did you know the key number ... ..



Japan Post has not confirmed similar cases other than this case so far, but we are proceeding with confirmation work based on the consultations received.

Expansion of use of courier service Redelivery is an issue

The deliveryman said that the reason for opening the locked mailbox was that "redelivery will be a burden to the user."



Due to the prolonged corona damage and the expansion of the use of online shopping, the use of courier services has increased, and the number of courier services handled last year was 4.8 billion, which is about 500 million more than the previous year.



Redelivery has become an issue as usage has expanded.



It is a heavy burden not only for the user but also for the delivery staff, and in order to reduce redelivery, so-called "delivery", in which the parcel is placed at the front door when the user is away, is widespread.



Of these, in the case of Japan Post, in addition to the delivery box, you can use it by submitting documents that specify the delivery location such as in front of the entrance, electricity and gas meter box, storage and garage to the nearest post office in advance. We are calling for utilization.