NAGASAKI – After decades of use, Nagasaki retired its “white postboxes” at the end of March. The mailbox-like receptacles were designed for people to drop off magazines, DVDs and other materials containing depictions of sex or violence.
The goal was to keep such materials from being disposed of on riverbanks or at parks, where they might be seen by children.
According to an expert, the first white postbox was set up in Hyogo prefecture in 1963. The trend spread to the rest of the country in 1964, when the first Tokyo Olympic Games were held, and the movement to protect children from harmful literature gained steam.
An official at the Nagasaki prefectural government said Nagasaki installed the postboxes in 1964.
More cities in Nagasaki prefecture followed, creating a faster rollout than in most other prefectures. Currently, the postboxes still stand in 19 of the prefecture’s municipalities.
However, with the rise of the internet, the need for the receptacles has faded.
They have received fewer and fewer drop-offs of publications and DVDs, and people sometimes even use them to dispose of cigarette butts.
One early morning in March, three Nagasaki officials visited the nine white postboxes in the city. After emptying the postboxes, they tucked pieces of cardboard into the slots and taped over the cardboard. Then they stuck notices on the receptacles that read “closed”. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
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