Worldwide shipping firms could be in line for boost after problems in Japan's postal service have rocked consumer confidence.

Firms that deliver parcels worldwide could pick up some of the slack that has been left after the disruption to the Japan Post Service caused more than a quarter of a million Yu-Pack parcels to be delayed.

The problems stemmed from the integration of Japan Post Service's parcel delivery arm with services run by a joint company set up two years ago.

Worldwide shipping firms such as DHL or FedEx may be the main beneficiaries of the debacle.

An editorial in the Asahi Shimbun said: "Given the soaring popularity of internet shopping, survival in the parcel shipping field boils down to the precision of deliveries.

"The damage to its reputation is clearly severe with customers switching to other handlers."

A lack of training given to frontline workers was also to blame, the editorial piece said.

Since then, Nikkei reports that Japan Post has claimed to have fixed the Yu-Pack issues, with parcels being delivered "virtually on time".