SYDNEY–Japan’s state postal service agreed to buy Australian logistics firm Toll Holdings Ltd. for 6.49 billion Australian dollars (US$5.07 billion), as it seeks to further boost its global-distribution network ahead of a share- market listing.

Japan Post Holdings Co. has for a while been looking to expand into fast-growing Asian markets to help offset weaker conditions at home–where population growth is slowing and Japanese people are increasingly communicating through email and other electronic messaging systems instead of writing letters processed by the post office.

Last year, Japan Post launched an international parcel-delivery service through a joint venture with France’sGeoPost SA and Hong Kong-based Lenton Group Ltd., a move that brought it more directly into competition with global logistics giants such as UPS and FedEx Corp.

Read more here.