Japan Post Has Temporarily Suspended Mail To The US Due To Tariffs

TOKYO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 04: A Japan Post Co sign is seen outside of a post office in downtown Tokyo on November 4, 2015 in Tokyo, Japan. Shares in Japan Post with its banking and insurance units started trading in Tokyo on November 4, 2015 after an initial public offering that marked 1.4 trillion yen. (Photo by Christopher Jue/Getty Images)

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Following the ongoing international tariff situation, Japan Post has temporarily suspended its mail service to the US until some kind of clarity is reached.

In a statement released a few days ago on the official Japan Post site, it explained that due to the current tariff situation with the US, they are temporarily suspending their mail service accordingly.

With anime, manga, and Japanese video games having a suitably massive fanbase in the US, with multitudes of companies built around supplying merchandise for said industries, this will have a direct and obviously negative financial impact on Japan’s “soft power” until the situation is resolved.

Consequently, this has had immediate knock-on effects for Good Smile Company, Tokyo Otaku Mode, AmiAmi, and HobbyLink Japan, all of which have released similar statements about the matter.

As most model kits and figures are in the price range impacted by these new tariffs, it seems that anime, manga, and video game fans in the US are now without their merchandise.

Considering the general confused communication between the Japanese and US governments on this tariff issue, it’s understandable that Japan Post took this course of action.

This is also not the first time mail shipments to the US have been halted, as the same thing happened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, in this instance, the cause of Japan Post’s actions is more down to not knowing how these new tariffs will work, rather than trying to protect public safety.

Admittedly, other mail options are available, with Japan Post’s U-Global Express (UGX) still in effect; this temporary suspension of regular mail from Japan to the US is definitely unfortunate.

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