Like most companies worldwide, Japanese companies are striving to make entertaining commercials they hope can grab customers’ attention in the information age. Unfortunately for Japan Post, its latest attempt to be clever fell flat, with Internet users accusing the national postal carrier of making light of women.
As recapped in a post from AllAbout, Japan Post made the ad live on March 5th. In the two-minute and 16-second (!) web spot, a company package courier tries to deliver a package to a woman at home. The post is titled, “The woman who positively doesn’t wanna be seen without makeup vs. the delivery person who somehow has to get her signature.”
The woman refuses to open the door more than a sliver, saying she “doesn’t want to be seen.” At one point, she attempts to use a grabber tool to apply her inkan (signing seal) to the label.
The delivery driver agrees to turn his back to the wall while she signs it, but turns around when she asks where to sign, earning her wrath.
A history of drawing fire with questionable commercials
The post immediately earned the national postal carrier a heap of backlash for mocking its customers, especially women. In particular, the commercial seems to make light of the real safety risk to women living alone.
Sadly, even in relatively “safe” Japan, this is a very real fear for women. In October 2023, for example, a man was arrested after sexually assaulting a woman in her home; he broke in under the guise of a delivery person. Burglars used a similar tactic in an infamous incident connected to the Luffy crime gang, resulting in the death of an elderly woman in Komae City, Tokyo.
As a result, articles in Japanese provide women advice for how to disguise they live alone to keep themselves safe. This includes everything from hanging out men’s clothing with their own laundry when drying it outside to requesting all deliveries be left at the door or in a delivery box.
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According to one industry expert, Japan Post commissioned the video from Coneco Film, whose use of “humor” in its videos has previously drawn criticism. An October 2023 video, “The False Groping Accusation” (痴漢冤罪; chikan enzai) depicted a man being accused of groping for waking up a woman on a train. Groping is a seriously underreported crime in Japan, with some groups estimating up to 80% of incidents go unreported.
At the time, Coneco issued an “explanation” for the intent behind the video, denying that it meant to make light of groping.
Japan Post deleted the tweet from its official PR account and issued an apology for the ad. In the comments, many questioned why the company decided it was wise to go with an ad company with a track record of disrespecting women and their concerns in the first place.
This isn’t the only commercial in Japan to make headlines for its portrayal of women and women’s issues. In 2021, TV Asahi’s Hodo Station went viral for a commercial calling gender equality “outdated.” Nikkei also took heat in 2022 for running a full-page ad for a manga that sexualizes minors. More recently, instant noodle maker Maruchan took heat for an udon commercial that some deemed unnecessarily horny.
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