Japanese Want More Smoking Restrictions

Nearly half of respondents to a recent government survey want Japan to strengthen measures against secondhand smoke, reports Kyodo News. Approximately 60 percent of those study participants asked for a reduction in outdoor smoking locations.

In April 2020, Japan banned smoking indoors in principle at restaurants, offices, hotel lobbies and other places open to the general public.

The survey queried 3,000 adults between August and September online and via mail, with 1,556 of them giving valid responses.

Around 83 percent of respondents said they find tobacco smoke unpleasant. The latest data cannot be compared directly with the last study conducted in 2019, which showed approximately 78 percent answered similarly, due to changes in the survey method.

In a multiple choice question about which smoking locations people disliked, most respondents (70 percent) cited streets, followed by nearly 51 percent who picked restaurants.

About 40 percent said they find tobacco smoke to be unpleasant even in locations frequented by smokers, including alcohol-serving establishments such as bars and izakaya Japanese pubs, as well as designated outdoor smoking areas.