Results of Public Comments on Postal Rule Amendments
Overview
The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications invited comments on draft rules, review standards, and standard processing periods in preparation for the enforcement of the Act Amending the Postal Service Act and Related Acts (Act No. 42 of 2026). It received 12 comments and published its views on them. The amended ministerial regulations and related instruments were promulgated and published, and will take effect on December 1, 2026, the Act's effective date.
Key points
- A total of 12 comments were submitted during the public comment period.
- The amended ministerial regulations and related instruments will take effect on December 1, 2026.
- One ministerial regulation and three ministry directives were promulgated and published.
Overview
On June 19, 2026, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications promulgated a law amending the Postal Service Act and related acts, including a review of the regulatory ceiling on postage rates for standard mail. The law was passed and enacted by the 221st Diet and promulgated as Act No. 42 of 2026.
The ministry conducted a public comment period on draft amendments to the relevant ministerial regulations and related instruments from August 20 through September 18, 2026, and published the comments received and its views.
Details
The amendments cover partial revisions to the Postal Service Act Enforcement Regulations, the International Mail Regulations, and the Enforcement Regulations of the Act on Delivery of Letters by Private Business Operators; establishment of review standards for authorization under Article 67, paragraph 3 of the Postal Service Act; and partial revisions to the related review standards and the standard processing period for licensing and authorization of letter delivery services.
The promulgated and published documents were the Ministerial Regulation Partially Amending the Postal Service Act Enforcement Regulations and Related Regulations (2026 Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Regulation No. 124); the Review Standards for Authorization under Article 67, paragraph 3 of the Postal Service Act (2026 Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications Directive No. 49); a directive partially amending the review standards related to letter delivery (No. 50); and a directive partially amending the standard processing period for letter delivery services (No. 51).