VOX POPULI: Perish the thought of a spoiled summer gift

Yubari melons, an expensive variety grown in Yubari, Hokkaido, ripen fast. I'm told they taste best when eaten within three days of being harvested. When their gray-green skin starts to yellow, it's best to either eat the fruit or halve it and keep it in the refrigerator. If it becomes over-ripe, the meat turns watery and the fruit will go to waste.

Melons and cherries from northern Japan and mangos from southern parts of the nation make popular summer gift items. If sent by parcel, they must arrive before they spoil.

The Yu-Pack parcel delivery service, operated by the Japan Post group, learned this the hard way when it got bogged down during the peak of the chugen summer gift-giving season.

The acquisition by Japan Post Service Co. of the Pelican parcel service of the Nippon Express Co. group resulted in a sharp increase of parcels handled. Coupled with confusion among workers not used to the new system, the situation led to late delivery of 340,000 parcels.

The chaos led to the over-ripening of perishables. For fruits that continue to ripen in trucks, even a one-day delay can be fatal. The same goes for birthday gifts and suzumushi bell crickets, which are vulnerable to heat and must be transported with great care.

As society swings away from old formalities, those who still send seasonal gifts clearly must have their reasons. But if the gifts go bad, hindsight suggests it would have been better to send a letter.

According to sources, some workers had voiced concern about the integration of the parcel delivery businesses during a busy season.

The company that provisionally took over the Pelican service was losing as much as 5 billion yen ($56.6 million) a month and had no time to lose to sort out all the problems involved in restructuring. It ended up having to deliver twice as many parcels without a significant increase in the number of collection and delivery centers, workers and trucks.

Competition is fierce in the parcel delivery industry. It is a market that Yamato Transport Co. opened up by negotiating with the government to break the monopoly of parcel post. Yamato held a top share of 41 percent in the domestic market in fiscal 2009, followed by Sagawa Express Co. with a 36-percent share. The two leaders are increasing their market shares. Japan Post's blunder could be a fatal blow to the Yu-Pack business.

Delivery service can be considered complete only when items arrive as the senders intended. If farm-fresh fruits reach the recipient late "via confusion with an attachment of apology," the sender would have been better off not sending the gift. Even when this confusion clears up, the trust that went rotten in the box cannot be easily recovered. The work of delivering goods must never be slighted, all the more because it is a simple task.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 8

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.