Post offices around Japan have begun selling New Year's greeting cards that are priced higher this year due to a postal rate hike in October.

A ceremony was held in Tokyo to mark the start of the nationwide sale on Friday.

At the Tokyo Central Post Office in Chiyoda Ward, people bought cards featuring illustrations of snakes -- next year's zodiac sign.

The price of a regular card has been raised to 85 yen, or about 55 cents -- up from about 41 cents.

A man in his 50s said he bought 200 cards last year, but only five this year because of the higher price.

Japan Post raised its rates partly due to its ballooning losses. In fiscal 2023, it logged an operating loss of 89.6 billion yen, or about 590 million dollars.

Fewer people send mail these days. Higher transportation costs are also weighing on the postal business.

Projecting less demand, Japan Post reduced its issuance of the cards by 25 percent this year from 2023. It's printing 1.07 billion cards -- the least since 2004, when issuance peaked at over 4.4 billion.

More people now use social media and email to send greetings. Companies are also starting to abandon the practice of sending cards due to cost-cutting and environmental concerns.

There's also a trend among mostly elderly people to send New Year cards announcing that the senders will be ending the practice.

A stationery store in Tokyo's Taito Ward is selling a special text stamp that politely states that this year's cards will be the last. The store says it expects demand from people who are quitting the tradition.