Prefectural stamps

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Prefecture stamps , also known as "furusato stamps" (from Japanese ふ る さ とfurusato = "hometown"), are postage stamps of the Japanese Post , which introduce the individual regions and their advantages, that is, to advertise them. They were introduced at the instigation of then Prime Minister Takeshita Noboru to counteract the neglect of the regions outside the capital. The 47 prefectures of Japan are grouped into regions by the Japanese Post Office. Up until 2005 there were 12 such postal regions, since then there have been 13.

description

The stamps are official issues of Japan Post and are valid throughout Japan. However, they were mainly sold on a regional level, generally only in the prefectures of the region to which the prefecture for which the brand was issued belongs. Outside of this region, availability is limited: initially they were only available at the Tokyo main post office and later at the main post offices of all prefectures. Prefecture stamps are therefore to be classified between local and national editions. Most prefecture brands advertise a specific prefecture, some for two or three at a time.

The prefectural marks can be identified by the following characteristics:

  • Until 2007/2008, a different, more modern font than the seal script in the national editions was used for the inscription 日本 郵 便 ("Nippon Yubin" = "Japanese Post") in Japanese characters.
  • The prefecture stamps bear the name of the prefecture they are intended to advertise in three to four Japanese characters.
  • Each prefecture brand has its own design.

history

The first prefectural stamps appeared on April 1, 1989 for Nagano and Yamagata prefectures. Between 1989 and 2007, around 800 prefectural stamps were issued in Japan, compared to around 1100 national stamps over the same period. On October 1, 2007, with the establishment of Japan Post Corporation, the practice of issuing prefectural stamps, which are only available at post offices in the respective prefectures, ended.

The issuing of prefectural stamps was officially stopped in 2008, as the privatized Japanese Post Office committed itself to covering the whole country with its services. However, at the instigation of some prefectures in 2009 and 2010, reprints were made on self-adhesive paper, which are identical to the brands that have already appeared. Stamps with the names of individual prefectures are still being issued, but these are available nationwide and are labeled "Nippon Yubin" in the traditional spelling.

While the Michel catalog catalogs the prefecture stamps with the other stamps of Japan in the order in which they appear, the Japanese Sakura catalog lists them separately.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b Furusato Japanese Stamps . Japanese-Stamps.com. 2012.
  2. ↑ a b c Subject: Japan: Self-adhesive prefectural stamps . Philaseiten.de. 2011. Accessed July 5, 2020.
  3. ↑ a b c d e Japan . StampWorldHistory. Archived from the original on April 2, 2018.
  4. ^ Michel Übersee Volume 9.2 - Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Former Soviet Republics in Asia - Catalog 2010. Übersee - Volume 9.2 . Schwaneberger, Unterschleißheim, ISBN 973-3-87858-795-8, p. 247.
  5. ^ A b Michel Übersee Volume 9.2 - Japan, Korea, Mongolia, Former Soviet Republics in Asia - Catalog 2010. Übersee - Volume 9.2 . Schwaneberger, Unterschleißheim, ISBN 973-3-87858-795-8, p. 399.
  6. ↑ さ く ら 日本 切 手 カ タ ロ グ 2019 年 版 2018 年 4 月 20 日 発 行 （第 54 版） (c) 公益 財 団 法人 日本 郵 趣 協会 (JPS) A5 判 352 ペ ー ジ ( SAKURA Catalog of Japanese Stamps , 54th edition 2019 , Japan (JPS), April 20, 2018, ISBN 978-4-88963-818-9 . Format A5, 352 pages)