Japanese companies are moving away from New Year’s cards because of environmental concerns

Companies are moving away from traditional sending practices. nengaj New Year’s greeting cards to their business partners and clients.

As they become more environmentally conscious, companies are changing the way they use paper. Another factor driving the shift is digital transformation, which includes the expansion of teleworking during the coronavirus crisis.

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp., the telecommunications giant, stopped sending nengaj cards to the president and vice-president starting this season. KDDI Corp., an industry peer, has also decided to stop sending cards in light of the environment.

Fire truck-maker Morita Holdings Corp. will not send New Year’s cards and will instead make greetings in other ways. The company is trying digitalize as much of its operations as possible.

Officials at TIS Inc., a system developer, stated that 70% of employees are teleworking and that traditional business practices don’t fit with new ways to work.

Official said that those receiving greeting cards could also be working remotely and may not receive the cards to their offices.

Heiwa Real Estate Co. is not sending cards partly because it wants to reduce work-related burdens.

Japan Post Co. continues to issue fewer nengaj cards. The initial issue amount for New Year’s postcards with lottery numbers for 2022 stood at 1.82 billion cards, down 6% from a year before.

The practice of long-standing is likely to decline with time.