Many Japanese seem to be wary of contracting ... Of 1,018 respondents to a Japan Trend Research survey who said they send New Year’s cards every year or often do so, approximately 11 percent ...

A growing number of Japanese people appear to be breaking with the country's tradition of sending New Year's greeting cards, as rising prices of daily goods are forcing them to cut back on spending.

This year, the price of plain New Year's cards increased from 63 yen to 85 ... of the cards by 25.7% in volume from the previous year. (Japanese original by Akira Murao, Political News Department) ...