A postal vehicle carrying an automated teller machine and a mailbox makes the rounds in two areas, twice a week, to serve residents left without any financial services.

The traveling vehicle named Posukuru, about the size of a microbus with a capacity for about 30 passengers, was put into operation Feb 18 on a trial basis by the privatized Japan Post Service Co at the Mitsukuri community center and the Obara welfare center in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture.

Residents in the two areas lost the only financial service that they can walk to when the post office agency in charge of handling money closed down, and the branch of the agricultural cooperative, where it was housed, pulled out last fall.

Japan Post Service is part of the Japanese postal group that became privatized last year after the Diet passed legislation in 2005 to privatize the country’s postal services, including mail, savings, insurance and over-the-counter services.

The trial mobile postal service will last until June 30 to gauge residents’ reaction and the utility of the service. Japan Post Service may consider increasing the number of traveling postal service vehicles and assign them to other places.

However, it remains to be seen whether the experiment will become the company’s trump card in its effort to maintain a nationwide postal service network because of problems associated with cost and security.

Shigeo Suzuki, chief of the Obara office of Toyota’s social welfare council, which offered parking space to the roving postal service, said the percentage of elderly people ‘‘in this area exceeds 30% and there are many people without cars.’’

‘‘A traveling postal service vehicle should help to improve the quality of living because some people can deposit or withdraw money without relying on others,’’ he added.

A neighborhood woman said the ATM installed in the vehicle is convenient as the vehicle stops at a site adjacent to a clinic.

Two postal service company employees and the driver, who doubles as a security guard, are in the vehicle.

The postal service company commissions individuals and agricultural or fisheries cooperatives to operate about 4,300 small post offices across the country. However, about 430 have shut down temporarily due to the lack of people willing to take over the operation or due to the consolidation of agricultural cooperatives.

The company is looking for people willing to run the post offices. The company has to maintain a nationwide network of post offices because the House of Councillors passed an incidental resolution as a prerequisite to the privatization of the postal services.

The mobile postal service in Aichi Prefecture was launched as an emergency measure. Japan Post Service has received requests from some post offices across the country for similar services but an official said, ‘‘Our ultimate objective is to reopen permanent post offices.’’

Among the problems confronting the mobile postal service are operational costs that amount to several times the amount of money they handle, keeping a parking spot, finding a convenient location for customers, installing equipment for communication and power generation.

Also, police have requested that the company have the proper equipment to safely transport cash.

The company has prepared security cameras as well as a global positioning system, in case it needs to keep track of the car.

© 2008 Kyodo News. All rights reserved. No reproduction or republication without written permission.

6 Comments

• 

  Statistician at 01:41 PM JST - 25th April

  That will teach them to vote for the LDP. Lucky they still have some savings left in their accounts I guess...

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  meandmybigmouth at 02:43 PM JST - 25th April

  A postal vehicle carrying an automated teller machine

  Immagine, if you carjack this, you get loads of cash in a private ATM machine also!

• 

  capone at 04:02 PM JST - 25th April

  agreed...just hijack it near a Shuto on-ramp and you're stylin'!

• 

  capone at 04:04 PM JST - 25th April

  'travelling service vehicle'...imagine the possibilities

• 

  Smythe at 05:58 AM JST - 26th April

  Sounds rather unique. Unfortunately the Cdn Post Office Dept., is not like a bank. So in some small towns, that have lost their non-profit making bank, the citizens have had to drive to a larger town or city, or possibly bummed a ride with a neighbor.

• 

  roughneck at 09:12 AM JST - 26th April

  So they close down lots of post offices and make the people run after the PosuKuru to post their mail! Hmmm...and they say that it will improve service level?

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