By Shodai Niki / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

Japanese delivery company Sagawa Express Co. will offer a 15% discount on shipping fees if customers pick up their packages at a collection and delivery hub, according to company officials. The company plans to launch a pilot program as early as this summer at four branches in Nakano Ward, Tokyo, and may expand the discount nationwide after assessing usage patterns.

Given Japan's growing labor shortage, the company aims to reduce the workload for delivery and collection by encouraging more customers to pick up their packages.

During the pilot program, the company will issue coupons for a 15% discount on shipping fees to customers who meet certain conditions, such as if they pick up and send their packages at the same branch. While this will reduce shipping revenue for Sagawa, the company expects to cut labor costs for redeliveries and pickups. The company also hopes to retain customers by highlighting the savings that will accrue to them.

Sagawa already offers a 100-yen discount per package for customers who bring their parcels to a branch office. Under the new initiative, available only at collection and delivery hubs, the discounts will be larger: For shipments from the Kanto region to the Kansai region, a 244-yen discount will apply to packages weighing up to 10 kilograms, and a 346-yen discount to those weighing over 10 kilograms and up to 20 kilograms.

By increasing the benefits for customers, the company aims to increase the number of drop-offs and improve the efficiency of its delivery operations.

In fiscal 2022, more than 5 billion parcels were shipped in Japan, according to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry. This was due in part to the spread of online shopping, and the figure has continued to rise since then. As of October 2025, the redelivery rate for the six major parcel delivery companies, including Sagawa, stood at 8.3%, and the ministry has set a target of reducing this to 6%.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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June 01, 2026 02:45 ET (06:45 GMT)

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