Japanese Post 4-State Customer Code

The Japanese Postal character set contains the following usable characters:

• The ten digits 0 - 9.

• The uppercase letters A-Z.

• The character -.

Numbers and the hyphen character are represented by single three-bar characters. Letters are represented by a combination of a numeral and a control character.  A-J use control character CC1, K-T use CC2, and U-Z use CC3.   Priority Codes are CC4 for Normal priority and CC7 for Highest priority.

Each complete barcode will contain distinct bars and spaces for each character as well as a start and stop bar, a checksum digit, and quiet zones on either side of the barcode.

The bars in each barcode are separated into individual fields that contain symbols, which represent characters. Each character is made up of 3 separate bars. Each bar has its own numerical value and can be in one of four "states", thus the name of the symbology. The names of the four states and their corresponding values are:

• Long bar, value=1

• Semi-long bar (upward), value=2

• Semi-long bar (downward), value=3

• Timing bar, value=4

These are illustrated in the diagram below.

The following is a diagram and a list of each individual field and its function:

• Start Bars: The first two bars of any Japanese Post 4-State Customer Code are the start bars. These bars help determine the orientation of the barcode along with the Stop Bars and always have the values 1 and 3, respectively.

• New Postal Number Code: The field is 21 bars long.

• Address Indication Number:The field is 39 bars long.  If the address does not require the full set of characters, filler characters are used.

• Check Digit: Used for validation of the barcode. This field is 3 bars long and is always located just before the stop bars.

• Stop Bars: The last two bars of any Japanese Post 4-State Customer Code. These bars help determine the orientation of the barcode along with the Start Bars and always have the values 3 and 1, respectively.

Japanese Post 4-State Customer Code requires significant quiet zone space not only to the sides, but also above and below. When creating a barcode with this symbology, be sure to allow for at least 2mm of space on all sides.

In order to correctly position a Japanese Post barcode it must be printed parallel to one edge of the piece of mail either horizontally or vertically. The barcode must also be within the following margins.

• No less than 10mm from the top or side edges of the piece of mail.

• No less than 15mm from the bottom edge of the piece of mail

Some other things to consider when placing your barcodes are listed below.

• No part of the barcode must appear in the canceling and metering zone. The metering zone is 35mm from the top edge and 70mm from the right edge.

• The angle of inclination of the barcode with respect to the barcodes axi and the parallel edge of the piece of mail should be within 5 degrees.

• The preferred position of the barcode is below the written address if horizontal; if the address is vertical the barcode can be printed to the right, left, or at the bottom of the address.

A Japanese Post barcode requires two data input values: Postal Code and Address Indication.  A typical Japanese address such as this:

would have a Postal Code value of 170-3293 and an Address Indication value of 5-2-1.