Tag: Japan

Japan’s Diet yesterday passed an amendment that will ban smoking in public facilities, according to a story by Tomohiro Osaki for the Japan Times.
The ban will be implemented in stages, coming into full force by April 2020, just ahead of the staging in Tokyo of the 2O20 Summer Olympics, which are due to start in July of that year.
The revision to the Health Promotion Law has been watered down from the health ministry’s original proposal, falling short of a comprehensive smoking ban in restaurants and bars.
Under the updated law, an estimated 55 percent of eateries nation-wide will end up being exempt.
This has prompted criticism from some quarters that though the amendment is a step forward, it is a far cry from the anti-smoking ordinance adopted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government last month, which is expected to make more than 80 percent of eateries across the capital effectively smoke-free.
The revised national law will make smoking in some designated institutions illegal for the first time, penalizing non-compliant operators and smokers with fines of up to ¥500,000 and ¥300,000, respectively.
The measure, according to the health ministry, is expected to raise the World Health Organization’s grading of Japan’s anti-smoking efforts by one rank – to the second-lowest level.
The Times story reported that the amendment had been watered down after facing fierce resistance from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and industry groups. Japan had long been soft on smoking due largely to vested interests and pork-barrel politics, a system in which the tobacco industry had thrived, it said. Even corporate giant Japan Tobacco Inc. was partially owned by the finance ministry.
The amendment makes the premises of public institutions such as schools, hospitals and municipal offices non-smoking. That is, smoking will be prohibited both indoors and outdoors in principle, though smoking spaces may be set up outside those buildings.
A less rigorous measure will apply to other public facilities, including restaurants and bars, where only indoor smoking will be outlawed. But even inside, smoking will be allowed in segregated, well-ventilated rooms, where no drinking or eating will be permitted.
Smaller restaurants will be exempt altogether.
People under the age of 20 will be prohibited from entering these establishments.
Newly established bars and restaurants will be obliged to ban smoking, regardless of size.
Under the amendment, users of heat-not-burn devices will be allowed to dine and drink in ventilated smoking rooms.

The Chiba Municipal Government is following the lead of Tokyo by seeking to make the majority of eating and drinking establishments in Chiba smoke-free, according to a story by Hiromi Kumai for Asahi Shimbun.
Chiba officials have drafted regulations that would prohibit smoking inside eateries where at least one employee is working, regardless of the dimensions of the premises – regulations that are similar to those of Tokyo’s ordinance.
The Government estimates that about 70 percent of the approximately 3,200 dining establishments in the city will be subject to the new regulation, though the percentage will drop to 66 percent if bars or taverns are excluded.
Chiba officials, who sought opinions from the public, aim to have the anti-smoking law in place no later than the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics are due to take place.
By comparison, under a central government bill, smoking is prohibited in principle at eateries, offices and hotels. But such facilities may set up special rooms for the exclusive use of smokers – albeit rooms where no food or drink will be served. Existing eateries with customer seating areas of up to 100 square meters and capital of up to ¥50 million are exempted from the smoking ban and are not required to set up separate smoking areas if they display a sign in front of their buildings indicating that they allow smoking.
The central-government bill restricts also the use of heat-not-burn products by requiring eateries to set up special smoking rooms if they want to allow their customers to use such devices while they dine.
The Tokyo measure will cover an estimated 84 percent of restaurants and bars across the capital, whereas 45 percent are likely to be regulated by the national law.
The new Tokyo ordinance is said to seek to protect the well-being of those deemed vulnerable, particularly children and employees, with a ban on tobacco smoking on public-facility premises, such as kindergartens, schools and day care centers.
Although tougher than the national legislation, the Tokyo ordinance stops short of banning smoking in all facilities.
A less stringent measure, for example, will apply to the premises of institutions such as universities, hospitals and government offices, where smoking can be allowed in designated areas outside buildings.
Among those subject to the most relaxed regulation are gyms, hotels and some eateries, where only indoor smoking will be outlawed. And even inside, people will be able to smoke tobacco in segregated rooms specially equipped to prevent smoke from leaking out.
Tokyo’s ordinance is set to take effect from April 2020, just a few months before the start of the Olympics.
Chiba’s proposed ordinance will regulate all restaurants and eateries with at least one employee, though smoking will be permitted in smoking areas.
Under the Chiba ordinance, however, bars or taverns that are subject to the law regulating adult entertainment businesses will be required only to make reasonable efforts to comply. They will not merit punishment for the time being based on the belief that smoking at such drinking establishments is socially accepted.
However, the regulation will be strengthened for such alcohol-related establishments after the prohibition against lighting up becomes customary at restaurants and eateries.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly has passed an anti-smoking ordinance that is stricter than the national version currently under consideration, according to a story in The Japan Times.
The Times said the capital city’s smoking ban, which had preceded the passage of a similar amendment to the Health Promotion Law that was being deliberated by the national Diet, was intended to rein in second-hand smoke and create a tobacco-free 2020 Olympics.
The Tokyo measure will cover an estimated 84 percent of restaurants and bars across the capital, whereas 45 percent are likely to be regulated by the revised national law.
The new ordinance is said to seek to protect the well-being of those deemed vulnerable, particularly children and employees, with a ban on tobacco smoking on public-facility premises, such as kindergartens, schools and day care centers.
Although tougher than the national legislation, the ordinance stops short of banning smoking in all facilities.
A less stringent measure, for example, will apply to the premises of institutions such as universities, hospitals and government offices, where smoking can be allowed in designated areas outside buildings.
Among those subject to the most relaxed regulation are gyms, hotels and some eateries, where only indoor smoking will be outlawed. And even inside, people will be able to smoke tobacco in segregated rooms specially equipped to prevent smoke from leaking out.
Tokyo’s ordinance is set to take effect from April 2020, just a few months before the start of the Olympics.

Japan’s Lower House has passed an antismoking bill, paving the way for its enactment and implementation before the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, according to a story in the Japan Times.
The bill to revise the Health Promotion Law bans indoor smoking at schools, hospitals and public institutions, with violations resulting in fines.
But the bill is said to have drawn controversy because the government has largely relaxed requirements for eateries to qualify for exemptions on indoor smoking restrictions, amid opposition from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party whose members have strong ties to the tobacco and restaurant industries.
Under the bill, smoking is prohibited in principle at eateries, offices and hotels. But such facilities may set up special rooms for the exclusive use of smokers – albeit rooms where no food or drink will be served.
Eateries with customer seating areas of up to 100 square meters and capital of up to ¥50 million are exempted from the smoking ban and are not required to set up separate smoking areas if they display a sign in front of their buildings indicating that they allow smoking.
The bill restricts also the use of heat-not-burn products by requiring eateries to set up special smoking rooms if they want to allow their customers to use such devices while they dine.
The bill is due to go to the Upper House.