Masaki Aiba to write 100 New Year's cards this year!? Japan Post holds "New Year's Postcard Sales Kickoff Ceremony"

Japan Post held the "Heisei 30th Year New Year's Postcard with Lucky Money Envelope Sales Launch Ceremony" at JP Tower in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, on November 1st. On the same day, the new TV commercial featuring Arashi, titled "Oh, So It's Heisei 30!", began airing. This commercial traces major social phenomena and trends that occurred over the past 30 years through photos and videos, reflecting on the changing times since the start of the Heisei era. It also looks back on the history of Arashi members themselves, incorporating their private photos.

At the ceremony, President Kunio Yokoyama first stated, "Thirty years have passed since the start of the Heisei era. As a major milestone, we encourage people to look back not just on the past year, but from the long perspective of the entire 30-year Heisei period. Please send New Year's cards to those who have supported you and those you wish to continue supporting."

Next, Ms. Hana Nakajima from the Postal and Logistics Sales Department explained the products and services. This year, for the first time, New Year's postcards featuring the popular character "Snoopy" were sold, inspired by the Year of the Dog. Additionally, "Advertisement-Attached New Year's Cards" were released for the first time in seven years. These cards offer a portion of the postcard as advertising space to companies, allowing them to be sold at a discounted price of 5 yen per card using the advertising revenue. Additionally, support for "creating," "enjoying," and "sending" New Year's cards via "Yubin-nenga.jp" was introduced. Last year, the site recorded over 300 million page views within five months of its launch.

Attending the event were Arashi's Masaki Aiba, former Japanese women's national soccer team player Homare Sawa, and entertainer Makita Sports. Both Aiba and Makita Sports were born in the Year of the Dog. Aiba lamented, "I was determined to send New Year's cards to 100 people this year, but when I checked my phone contacts, I only had about 50 people saved." However, when the host advised him, "There are services that let you send New Year's cards even to people whose addresses you don't know, as long as you have their email address or Twitter account," his eyes lit up.

As the three reflected on symbolic events since the first year of Heisei to match the commercial's structure, they shared memories from those times along with anecdotes about New Year's Eve and New Year's cards. Aiba, who was six years old during the first Heisei New Year, revealed, "I sent New Year's cards to my classmates. I even wrote to someone I had a crush on." Sawada, who was 10 at the time, nostalgically recalled using stamps popular back then on his cards. Reflecting on Heisei 12 (2000), the millennium year, Sawada said, "I welcomed it in the US while studying soccer." Aiba added, "I welcomed it twice, in Sydney and Hawaii, for a TV program project. Looking back on New Year's cards and how we rang in the new year is fun because those are the episodes that define each year."

On the day, special New Year's cards featuring Aiba, Sawa, and Makita Sports were sold. Makita Sports, who celebrated his 20th anniversary in show business in 2018, concluded, "I want to send New Year's cards to everyone who has supported me. I want to send them to many people and wish everyone a good year."

Official Site: https://nenga.yu-bin.jp/