Tokyo Assembly OKs Tougher Smoking Restrictions Than State’s

June 28, 2018

Tokyo- The Tokyo metropolitan assembly voted Wednesday to introduce tougher smoking restrictions in the Japanese capital than currently discussed in the Diet, the country's parliament.

The original rules, including a basic smoking ban in restaurants regardless of how large they are, will be put into force in stages before fully taking effect in April 2020, ahead of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics of that year.

An ordinance for the prevention of secondhand smoking, including unique restrictions, was approved by a majority vote at a plenary meeting of the metropolitan assembly, although the Liberal Democratic Party opposed it.

"We aim for a Tokyo where both smokers and nonsmokers feel comfortable," Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike told reporters after the assembly meeting. "Taking (the passage of) the metropolitan ordinance as a cue, we'll promote a 'health first' metropolitan administration," she said.

In Tokyo, smoking will be prohibited in all establishments serving food or drink that have hired staff, except in specially designated smoking rooms. The only exception will be restaurants and bars run entirely by family members. Offenders will be fined up to 50,000 yen.

This restriction is compared with a ban on smoking in restaurants and bars with a customer seating area of 100 square meters or larger, which is under deliberation in the Diet now.

Meanwhile, the metropolitan assembly, in line with the ongoing parliamentary deliberations, approved a rule that allows bar- and restaurant-goers to use heat-not-burn tobacco products, for which health risks are yet unclear, while dining in areas separated from other customers.

The Tokyo rules also include a blanket smoking ban at nurseries, as well as elementary, junior high and senior high schools, without a state-eyed exception for designated areas outside school buildings.

An LDP member argued prior to the assembly vote on Wednesday that it is difficult to determine whether restaurants and bars are run solely by family members or not, calling this criterion "abstract and ambiguous."

An assembly member from Komeito, which is the LDP's ruling coalition partner in national politics but has supported the Tokyo smoking restrictions, urged the metropolitan government to "carefully address" the impact of the rules on businesses.

In the metropolitan assembly, the LDP and Komeito each have far fewer seats than Governor Koike's regional party, Tomin First no Kai (Tokyoites first group).

In Tokyo, there are about 160,000 establishments that serve food and drink. Of them, about 84 pct are expected to be subject to the new smoking restrictions.

An industry representative has testified at an assembly committee meeting that the new rules could have a "fatal impact" on the industry by dragging down sales.

Within the industry, there was persistent criticism of the metropolitan government for drawing up the basic ban on indoor smoking without consulting the industry in advance.

Koike claimed that there is a silent majority backing tougher smoking restrictions, given that about 80 pct of all adults in Japan are now nonsmokers. Jiji Press