TOKYO -- Longer opening hours for post offices and 24-hour ATM service are among the highlights of a far-reaching reform plan being created by the Postal Services Agency, according to a report in the Asahi Shimbun.
To meet the challenge posed by the growing presence in city centers of convenience stores, many of which are open 24 hours and offer ATM and utility bill payment services, post offices will extend their hours into the evening, with some offices in busy urban areas opening on weekends and holidays.
Round-the-clock operation of ATMs will be introduced following computer-system overhauls next January in Eastern Japan and a year later in Western Japan, according to the report.
The measures are part of draft reform plans to shift postal functions under direct government control to a new public corporation by April 2003. The move, which will expose the entity to private-sector competition, is aimed at creating more efficiency.
Among other changes on the drawing board are a lowering of postal delivery fees, simplification of postal fee categories and differentiated salaries for postal employees.
Other plans include slashing employee numbers by 10,000 by scaling down the number of hires for fiscal 2003 to 2005 and encouraging early retirement.
