Editing Chain letter (section)

===== Responses by Organizations in Japan =====
Various organizations stepped in to handle the letters and alleviate public anxiety:
*   '''Police:''' Efforts included public awareness campaigns (Chiba urging letters be sent to the police chief,<ref name="モノと図像から探る怪異妖怪の東西_p104"/> Niigata advising disposal<ref name="広報こすど19750201"/>), setting up collection boxes (Kanagawa's "Shichifuku Post" meaning "Seven Fortunes Post,"<ref name="モノと図像から探る怪異妖怪の東西_p106"/><ref name="モノと図像から探る怪異妖怪の東西_p104"/> Shiga's "Purification Boxes"<ref name="滋賀県議会史11_p694"/>), issuing warnings about potential prosecution for threats (Osaka),<ref name="沖縄の風習と迷信_p169"/><ref name="沖縄の迷信_p248"/> and offering to dispose of letters brought to stations (Tokyo).<ref name="朝日新聞19720501m_p20"/> However, prosecution was difficult as the content rarely met the legal definition of a threat.<ref name="朝日新聞19701031m_p24"/><ref name="読売新聞19780620_p20"/><ref name="滋賀県議会史11_p694"/><ref name="埼玉県議会史12_p1604"/>
*   '''Post Offices:''' Initially handled refused letters as undeliverable,<ref name="講演時報1520_p16"/> but later some branches actively collected them for disposal, citing inability to screen mail beforehand due to privacy laws.<ref name="読売新聞19780620_p20"/> Initiatives included collection and incineration programs (Shiga, 1990;<ref name="中日新聞19900424m_p15"/> Saga instructing on refusal procedures;<ref name="西日本新聞19900624m_p22"/> Shizuoka, 1991<ref name="静岡新聞19911203m_p21"/><ref name="静岡新聞19920109m_p22"/>).
*   '''Temples and Shrines:''' Many offered to collect and ritually dispose of the letters through burning ceremonies (''kuyō''). Notable examples include young monks at [[Mount Kōya]] (1971),<ref name="大乗22(2)_p72"/> [[Hase-dera (Minato, Tokyo)|Hase-dera]] in Tokyo (from 1977),<ref name="モノと図像から探る怪異妖怪の東西_p106"/><ref name="読売新聞19780620_p21"/> temples in [[Ise, Mie|Ise]] (1977),<ref name="中部財界20(5)_p80"/> temples in [[Matsumoto, Nagano|Matsumoto]] installing "Unlucky Letter Offering Boxes" (1977),<ref name="郵政19770901_p56"/> Shōzō-ji temple in Tokyo (accepting mail and later email),<ref name="散歩の達人5(2)_p88"/> [[Ikuta Shrine]] in Kobe (from 1970),<ref name="へそだんご_p4"/> [[Hikawa Shrine (Saitama)|Hikawa Shrine]] in Saitama (1971),<ref name="モノと図像から探る怪異妖怪の東西_p106"/> and Kōfuku Shrine ("Happiness Shrine") in [[Hyūga, Miyazaki|Hyūga]], which famously offered to "turn unlucky letters into tickets to happiness" and received thousands.<ref name="西日本新聞19900629m_p31"/><ref name="西日本新聞19900711m_p27"/><ref name="西日本新聞19900718m_p22"/><ref name="西日本新聞19910130e_p5"/><ref name="西日本新聞19920117m_p22"/>
*   '''Collaboration:''' Some post offices partnered with temples for disposal, such as in Gifu (Hokkata Post Office sending collected letters to [[Tokurin-ji Temple (Nagoya)|Tokurin-ji Temple]] in Nagoya for burning on [[Fumi no Hi]] (Letter Day), starting 1991)<ref name="朝日新聞19911021m_p23"/><ref name="中日新聞19911120m_p16"/><ref name="中日新聞19920715m_p16"/><ref name="中日新聞19940724m_p18"/><ref name="文化短信19950331_p46"/> and Kōchi (Kōchi Central Post Office setting up a dedicated P.O. Box "940" - a pun on ''kuyō'' - with letters ritually burned at [[Chikurin-ji Temple (Kōchi)|Chikurin-ji Temple]] from 1995).<ref name="朝日新聞20000725_p24"/><ref name="朝日新聞19990724m_p31"/><ref name="六大新報3882(1)_p1"/>
*   '''Others:''' Individuals publicly offered to receive letters (a Chiba salaryman collecting postmarks in 1970,<ref name="読売新聞19701126_p12"/> a Tokyo man collecting 2000 letters by 1978<ref name="読売新聞19780620_p21"/>). Radio host [[Yutaka Tonegawa]] invited listeners to send letters to him after hearing about a child's distress, arranging for disposal at [[Toyokawa Inari Tokyo Betsuin]].<ref name="女性自身19(46)_p33"/> Music magazine ''{{proper name|ARENA37°C}}'' collected letters from readers.<ref name="朝日新聞19980516e_p15"/> A reader suggested an [[apotropaic magic|apotropaic]] ritual involving drawing a blue crescent moon over the address and tearing the letter into three pieces.<ref name="モノと図像から探る怪異妖怪の東西_p106"/><ref name="朝日新聞19911022_p26"/>