Restrictions on packages going to the US

I am not a happy bunny!

As of today, Japan Post Office is no longer accepting packages that weigh over 1lb/450g that are destined for the USA. Their announcement is here but all Japanese. It basically says that any package over 450g will not be accepted for the US or it's territories (Guam etc) due to heightened terror threats. This includes anything sent by EMS, Airmail or SAL. 

A good chunk of my sales go to the States, smaller packages will be fine but I will have to split bigger orders if possible. I have been asking around and checking postal service websites of different countries and it seems that printer cartridges are banned from many countries but Japan is the only one with this self imposed ridiculous weight restriction. From what I can gather only Japan Post is affected because they use commercial planes to ship the packages out whereas FEDEX etc. have their own planes.

For those interested there is an active thread about the situation here on Etsy

I know I have quite a few readers that this will affect especially with it being just before Christmas, couldn't they have picked a worse time? Also expect delays, I have had 2 customers already enquiring about their packages, normally packages to mainland US take 5-7 days, seems to be taking closer to 10 at the moment.

If you are mailing to the US there is also a list of things that will be affected by irradiation treatment, the list is here, scroll to the bottom, it is things like all electronics, meds, blood samples (do people really send blood through the post?) and contact lenses!

That is the end of today's rant and public service announcement, if I find out any more info, or indeed if you know anything, please add it to the comments section, thank you!