Japan to Target Univ. Students in Curbing Parcel Redeliveries

August 13, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Environment Ministry plans to target university students in measures to curb package redeliveries, which lead to exhaust gases and carbon dioxide in the air.

Working with bodies close to the university students such as university cooperatives, the ministry will conduct a survey and come up with measures to prevent redeliveries for young people.

The ministry plans to devise effective measures by listening to the opinions of university students, who frequently use online shopping services.

In an opinion poll for the Cabinet Office in 2017, respondents who said they asked for redelivery for almost all their parcels were sorted by age group.

Out of all age groups, people aged 18-29 had the highest proportion of such respondents, at 17.3 pct, according to the survey.

The ministry decided that it needs to consider measures focused on young people such as university students who live alone, officials said.

It plans to conduct study work with university cooperative staff and an environmental nongovernmental organization of young people interested in climate change issues.

The ministry will conduct a survey of some 400 university students across Japan on topics such as whether they use convenience stores, delivery lockers, boxes, or locations other than their homes when they receive packages.

Using the survey results, the ministry will work with students and others to plan effective measures that will reduce the number of redeliveries. It plans to try out the new measures in October or later, according to the officials.

The Cabinet Office's poll showed that many of the younger generation were flexible about receiving parcels in locations other than their homes.

The Environment Ministry may be able to find a way to deliver parcels that will be widely accepted among people if it builds recognition for such methods, one official said.

The ministry aims to work hand-in-hand with young people, university cooperatives and others to devise measures that suit current living styles. Jiji Press