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 There is pressure on the Japanese capital ahead of the 2020 Summer
Games, including from the International Olympics Committee (IOC), to
follow Rio de Janeiro and other recent Olympic venues in banning
smoking in all public places to create a healthy sporting
environment.
But an initial proposal for a blanket ban on smoking indoors across
Japan was opposed by pro-smoking politicians, restaurateurs and
Japan Tobacco, which is one-third government-owned and paid the
state $700 million in dividends in 2015.
The health ministry scaled back its plan, to allow smoking indoors
in spaces around 30 square metres (323 square feet) as long as
adequate ventilation is installed.
But opponents say this will still hurt Japan's many eateries,
restrict individual freedom, and dent tobacco tax revenues - which
topped 2 trillion yen ($18 billion) in 2014-15.
Natsuko Takami, who runs a Tokyo pub that is small enough to allow
smoking under the revised bill, fears losing money as she can't
afford new ventilation, and could be fined 500,000 yen if a customer
lit up. The smoker could be fined 300,000 yen.
"I think people would stop coming," she said, adding that being able
to smoke and drink helps reserved Japanese open up.
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party's (LDP) health committee, whose
support is essential to introducing the bill in parliament, won't
meet ministry officials, saying the revised bill is too strict.
The committee chair, Naomi Tokashiki, acknowledges there should be a
law that protects against second-hand smoke, but says Japan's
cultural emphasis on good manners and sensitivity to others should
suffice.
"I believe Japanese people really are considerate of others," she
said. "It's more important for us to trust people than enact a
really repressive law."
Not so, say health authorities, pointing to 15,000 deaths a year
from second-hand smoke, mostly women and children.
"It's not a question of manners, we're looking at the impact on
health," said a ministry official involved in crafting the bill who
declined to be named due to the issue's sensitivity.
"We've basically allowed people their independence, but the
situation hasn't changed," he said. "Something more is needed."
It now seems unlikely the law will be put to a vote in the current
parliamentary session, which ends on June 18.
PATCHWORK LAWS
Fifty years ago, around half of Japanese smoked. That's now dropped
to 18 percent, and smoking areas have been dramatically restricted,
but smoking laws vary from city to city and, within Tokyo, from ward
to ward. Penalties are low and enforcement lax.
A 2003 law "encourages" restaurants and other public areas to
separate smoking and non-smoking areas, but there is no penalty for
non-compliance. Smoking is still possible on the grounds of schools
and hospitals, though not inside, and there is a cigarette vending
machine in a health ministry annex.
Japan ranks bottom globally in anti-smoking regulations, as measured
by the types of public places entirely smoke-free, according to the
World Health Organization. The revised proposal would raise Japan to
the second-lowest of four rungs.
The WHO has teamed up with the IOC to guarantee smoke-free Games
venues, though IOC Vice President John Coates has said the body
can't force a ban beyond the venues and the Olympic Village.
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Brazil passed a blanket indoor smoking ban before the Rio Olympics
in 2016, and bans were in place for the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Vancouver, Canada as well as for the 2012 London Games. In Russia,
Sochi had only a limited city ban for the 2014 Winter Olympics, but
an extensive national ban was introduced a few months later. Beijing
had a limited, temporary ban in 2008, but enforcement was patchy. It
passed a tougher ban in 2015, when it hosted the athletics World
Championships.
GLOBAL IMAGE
The issue could affect Japan's image as it looks to attract more
tourists. Many travelers from Europe and North America are used to
smoking being banned indoors.
"A recent newspaper described Japan as a 'paradise for smokers,' and
I'm sure it wouldn't want that title," said Douglas Bettcher, WHO's
director for prevention of non-communicable disease. "It's not a
good impression to give ... as Japan is preparing and investing so
much for the 2020 Summer Olympics."
Many politicians have proposed a temporary smoking ban for the
Olympics, says Toshiharu Furukawa, an LDP lawmaker and a doctor who
supports an indoor ban, noting some colleagues' concern about a drop
in government tax revenues from cigarettes at a time when Japan's
taxpaying population is shrinking.
"Tobacco is a very important tax resource," he said. Some of those
lawmakers "are smokers, but some are backed by farming groups that
produce tobacco, and some are backed by tobacco companies."
Japan Tobacco spokesman Masahito Shirasu says the company shares
concerns about passive smoking, but the health ministry's proposal
is too strict.
The 80,000-strong National Food and Drink Association favors having
establishments display stickers showing if they are non-smoking,
segregated, or allow smoking - letting customers decide.
"Only 18 percent of people may smoke, but the percentage of smoking
customers in smaller restaurants is much higher - nearly half," said
Tetsuro Kojo, head of the association. "We must take care of them."
Public opinion varies. A poll by the liberal Asahi Shimbun newspaper
found that 64 percent supported the revised proposal, while the
conservative Sankei Shimbun found only 37 percent in favor.
Kazuo Hasegawa, a 46-year-old non-smoker diagnosed with lung cancer
in 2010, believes pressure related to the Olympics is essential for
achieving a ban.
"The tobacco issue is something that can't really be solved in a
Japanese manner," he said. "Without outside pressure, Japan won't
move on this."
(Additional reporting by Ami Miyazaki and Chris Gallagher; Editing
by Malcolm Foster and Ian Geoghegan)
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