EXCLUSIVE: More Japan Cities Mulling Tougher Rules on Passive Smoking

July 29, 2018

Tokyo- After the Tokyo metropolitan government introduced original measures against passive smoking that are stricter than state regulations, more cities are considering making a similar move, according to a survey by Jiji Press.

Among 20 ordinance-designated cities, Chiba plans to enact an original anti-passive smoking ordinance, while Hamamatsu, Osaka and Sakai are considering responding positively to prefecture-level efforts to tighten related regulations, the questionnaire survey on municipality heads, also covering cities and wards in Tokyo, showed.

In June this year, Tokyo, as the host city of the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, enacted an ordinance to introduce tougher smoking regulations for restaurants and bars than the state-set rules to achieve the goal of tobacco-free Olympics.

While the state law allows smoking inside existing restaurants with a customer seating space of up to 100 square meters, Tokyo's ordinance imposes a smoking ban at all eateries with employees in principle regardless of floor space.

The city of Kobe said the state should introduce measures that are stricter than those of Tokyo, such as the total smoking ban at restaurants and bars.

The cities of Chiba and Kawasaki also seek the toughening of state rules, calling for prohibiting indoor smoking at eateries with employees, just like under the Tokyo ordinance.

Hiroshi Yamato, professor at the University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Japan, said it stands to reason that Tokyo took a tougher line than the state on grounds of hosting the Olympics.

"Efforts by many municipalities may eventually move the state," Yamato said.

In Tokyo, 41 wards and cities, or 85 pct of the total municipalities, said they have enacted ordinances or taken measures for preventing smoking on the street, the survey also showed.

Meanwhile, only seven municipalities said they are positively considering setting up outdoor smoking areas to cope with the tightening of indoor smoking rules. Twenty wards and cities said they will carefully examine whether people smoking on the street will increase.

Shibuya Ward showed concern over a possible flow of smokers from indoors to outdoors, while the city of Hachioji called on the state and the Tokyo government to work on creating a system that can surely prevent passive smoking. Jiji Press