Smoking in Japan - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Smoking in Japan is much less restricted

Smoking ban

Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...

than in many other nations, and Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

accounts for much of the tobacco consumption in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

. Nearly 30 million people smoke

Tobacco smoking

Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...

in Japan, making the country one of the world's largest tobacco markets. Japan is one of the last industrialized nations in the world where adult smoking is still widespread; statistics show Japanese men smoke at one of the highest rates in the world. The smoking rate among adults was 29% in 2008, 43% of men and 13% of women. As of 2010, the total smoking rate is 24%, 36.6% of Japanese men and 12.1% of Japanese women; this is the lowest recorded figure since Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco

, abbreviated JT, is a cigarette manufacturing company. It is part of the Nikkei 225 index. In 2009 the company was listed at number 312 on the Fortune 500 list. The company is headquartered in Toranomon, Minato, Tokyo. The international headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.-History:The company...

began surveying in 1965. The law prohibits the smoking of cigarettes by persons under the age of twenty

Smoking age

The minimum legal age to purchase cigarettes or tobacco products varies from country to country. Ages range from 14 to 21, but 18 tends to be the most common legal smoking age.-Asia:-Europe:-Australia:...

History

Until 1985, the tobacco industry

Tobacco industry

The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...

was a government-run monopoly

Monopoly

A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...

; the government of Japan

Government of Japan

The government of Japan is a constitutional monarchy where the power of the Emperor is very limited. As a ceremonial figurehead, he is defined by the 1947 constitution as "the symbol of the state and of the unity of the people". Power is held chiefly by the Prime Minister of Japan and other elected...

is still involved in tobacco advertising

Tobacco advertising

Tobacco advertising is the advertising of tobacco products or use by the tobacco industry through a variety of media including sponsorship, particularly of sporting events. It is now one of the most highly regulated forms of marketing...

and etiquette

Etiquette

Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...

campaigns, and the Ministry of Finance

Ministry of Finance (Japan)

The ' is one of cabinet-level ministries of the Japanese government. The ministry was once named Ōkura-shō . The Ministry is headed by the Minister of Finance , who is a member of the Cabinet and is typically chosen from members of the Diet by the Prime Minister.The Ministry's origin was back in...

controls 50.2 percent of Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco

. It is the world's third biggest tobacco company, turning over a profit of nearly $3 billion a year.

The Diet of Japan

Diet of Japan

The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...

has many MPs who have interests in the tobacco industry

Tobacco industry

and thus tobacco control

Tobacco Control

Tobacco control is a field of public health science, policy and practice dedicated to controlling the growth of tobacco use and thereby reducing the morbidity and mortality it causes...

legislation is uncommon.

Non-smoking areas are not common in restaurants, pachinko

Pachinko

is a type of game originating in Japan, and used as both a form of recreational arcade game and much more frequently as a gambling device, filling a niche in gambling in Japan comparable to that of the slot machine in Western gambling. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, but...

parlors and public areas, even in fast food

Fast food

Fast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with preheated or precooked ingredients, and served to the customer in a...

or family restaurants. However, all train

Rail transport in Japan

Rail transport in Japan is a major means of passenger transport, especially for mass and high-speed travel between major cities and for commuter transport in metropolitan areas.-Overview:...

s either have non-smoking cars or are completely smoke-free, as are many train stations platforms in urban areas.

Pricing

A particular brand of cigarettes in Japan costs the same across all vendors, from cigarette machines to big supermarkets to corner shops. Bulk purchases are not discounted. As of 1 October 2010, the price of a typical pack of cigarettes went up from 320 to 410 yen, in part because of a levy by the Japanese government of 3.5 yen per cigarette.

Prevalence

The smoking rate in Japan has been on the decline. A nationwide Internet survey published in 2006 by goo Research

Goo (search engine)

goo is an internet search engine and web portal based in Japan, which crawls and indexes primarily Japanese language websites. goo is operated by the Japanese NTT Resonant, a subsidiary of NTT Communications.-External links:* *...

on the subject of tobacco showed 23.1% of respondents smoke every day. In 2008 the smoking rate of Japanese men dropped to a record low of 36.8 percent and the rate for women dropped to 9.1 percent.

Japanese women and smoking

While a high percentage of men smoke, the rate for women has not risen much beyond 10 percent. Tradition

Culture of Japan

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America...

ally, Japanese women who smoked were considered unfeminine

Femininity

Femininity is a set of attributes, behaviors, and roles generally associated with girls and women. Though socially constructed, femininity is made up of both socially defined and biologically created factors...

. Those who did smoke would rarely, if ever, do so in public. The social stigma was rooted in the belief that motherhood is the purpose of a woman's life and smoking was harmful to children.

Since the mid 1990s, the number of female smokers has risen, among young women in particular. "The manufacturers were very successful in providing cool images to the consumers," says Ministry of Health and Welfare

Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (Japan)

The ' is a cabinet level ministry of the Japanese government. It is commonly known as Kōrō-shō in Japan. This ministry provides regulations on maximum residue limits for agricultural chemicals in foods, basic food and drug regulations, standards for foods, food additives, etc.It was formed with...

technical officer Yumiko Mochizuki, when asked to explain the steady rise in female smokers. "Until recently, the Ministry of Health and Welfare had an understanding that smoking was entirely up to the individual."

The government's advertising ban based on the "motherhood" argument was watertight until the tobacco industry was privatized in 1985. Advertising that encourages women to smoke

Fashion brands (cigarettes)

Historically considered a masculine habit, the feminization of smoking occurred in tandem with the advent of fashion brands or premium brands of cigarettes specifically marketed toward women who see the use of these brands as a way to increase or enhance their sexual appeal...

is forbidden in Japan under a voluntary industry agreement

Self-policing

Self-policing, a form of self-regulation, is the process whereby an organization is asked, or volunteers, to monitor its own adherence to legal, ethical, or safety standards, rather than have an outside, independent agency such as a governmental entity monitor and enforce those standards.-To the...

. The industry group pledged to voluntarily honor the advertising ban and is charged with enforcing it. United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

maker Brown & Williamson

Brown & Williamson

Brown & Williamson was an American tobacco company and subsidiary of the giant British American Tobacco, that produced several popular cigarette brands. It became infamous as the focus of investigations for chemically enhancing the addictiveness of cigarettes...

sells Capri cigarettes in Japan in slim white boxes with a flower-like design on the cover. R.J. Reynolds

R.J. Reynolds

Richard Joshua "R. J." Reynolds was an American businessman and founder of the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company....

' Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

billboard

Billboard

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

s for Salem

Salem (cigarette)

Salem is a brand of cigarettes introduced in 1956 by the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company as the first filter-tipped menthol cigarette. Its name derives from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, the city where RJR was founded and headquartered...

's Pianissimo cigarettes are green

Green

Green is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 520–570 nanometres. In the subtractive color system, it is not a primary color, but is created out of a mixture of yellow and blue, or yellow and cyan; it is considered...

-and-pink

Pink

Pink is a mixture of red and white. Commonly used for Valentine's Day and Easter, pink is sometimes referred to as "the color of love." The use of the word for the color known today as pink was first recorded in the late 17th century....

. Philip Morris

Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International is an international tobacco company, with products sold in over 160 countries. In 2007, it held a 15.6% share of the international cigarette market outside of the USA and reported revenues net of excise taxes of $22.8 billion and operating income of $8.9 billion.Until...

advertised its Virginia Slims

Virginia Slims

Virginia Slims is a brand of cigarette manufactured by Altria Group . The brand was introduced in 1968 and marketed to young professional women using the slogan "You've come a long way, baby." Some media watch groups considered this campaign to be responsible for a rapid increase in smoking among...

brand with the slogan "Be You" in an ad campaign.

Other factors contribute to the rise in female smokers. Some observers cite stress, saying that more Japanese women are smoking to relax as more enter the workforce

Workforce

The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...

. Others argue that smoking is one arena in which women can have equality

Gender equality

Gender equality is the goal of the equality of the genders, stemming from a belief in the injustice of myriad forms of gender inequality.- Concept :...

with men. Media

Mass media

Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...

influence is also cited, as many women on popular Japanese television drama

Japanese television drama

, also called , are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including murder romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, and many others...

s smoke.

Smoking bans

Unlike in Europe

Smoking in Ireland

Smoking in workplaces in Ireland was banned on 29 March 2004, making Ireland the first country in the world to institute an outright ban on smoking in workplaces. From that date onwards, under the Public Health Acts, it has been illegal to smoke in all enclosed workplaces...

and North America

Smoking in Canada

Smoking in Canada is banned in indoor public spaces and workplaces , by all territories and provinces, and by the federal government. As of 2010, legislation banning smoking within each of these jurisdictions is mostly consistent, despite the separate development of legislation by each jurisdiction...

, where smoking ban

Smoking ban

Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...

s apply to many restaurants, bars and public areas, smoking is possible almost anywhere in Japan, like in China. There are few anti-smoking laws, as many politicians

Politics of Japan

The politics of Japan is conducted in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, where Prime Minister of Japan is the head of government. Japanese politics uses a multi-party system. Executive power exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the Diet, with...

have interests in Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco

.

Many of the wealthier wards of Tokyo, such as Shinjuku and Shibuya

Shibuya, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

, are applying various kinds of anti-smoking laws. They have designated special smoking sections in areas and it is punishable by fine if caught smoking outside these areas. Chiyoda-ku banned smoking while walking on busy streets from November 2002, the first local government in Japan to do so.

While 22% of Kyoto

Kyoto

is a city in the central part of the island of Honshū, Japan. It has a population close to 1.5 million. Formerly the imperial capital of Japan, it is now the capital of Kyoto Prefecture, as well as a major part of the Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto metropolitan area.-History:...

hotel rooms are non-smoking, common areas like bars and restaurants are not.

Corporate policy

Starbucks

Starbucks Corporation is an international coffee and coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington. Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 17,009 stores in 55 countries, including over 11,000 in the United States, over 1,000 in Canada, over 700 in the United Kingdom, and...

is one of the few service industry companies in Japan that entirely ban smoking in all its stores. McDonald's

McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...

Japan plans to ban smoking at some of its stores following renovations, and banned smoking at its 298 restaurants in Kanagawa prefecture

Kanagawa Prefecture

is a prefecture located in the southern Kantō region of Japan. The capital is Yokohama. Kanagawa is part of the Greater Tokyo Area.-History:The prefecture has some archaeological sites going back to the Jōmon period...

since 1 March 2010. Kentucky Fried Chicken banned smoking at one branch in Shibuya, Tokyo

Shibuya, Tokyo

is one of the 23 special wards of Tokyo, Japan. As of 2008, it has an estimated population of 208,371 and a population density of 13,540 persons per km². The total area is 15.11 km²....

in July 2010.

Cigarette vending machines

Cigarettes can be bought in tobacco stores and at vending machines, and public ashtrays dot sidewalks and train platforms. The number of cigarette vending machines in Japan is estimated at 500,000.

Taspo

Taspo

, formerly known as , is a smart card using RFIDdeveloped by the Tobacco Institute of Japan , the , and the for introduction in 2008. Following its introduction, the card is necessary in order to purchase cigarettes from vending machines in Japan. The name "Taspo" is a portmanteau for .The group...

is a smart card

Smart card

A smart card, chip card, or integrated circuit card , is any pocket-sized card with embedded integrated circuits. A smart card or microprocessor cards contain volatile memory and microprocessor components. The card is made of plastic, generally polyvinyl chloride, but sometimes acrylonitrile...

developed by the Tobacco Institute of Japan, the nationwide association of tobacco retailers, and the Japan Vending Machine Manufacturers Association. Introduced in 2008, the card is necessary to purchase cigarettes from vending machines.

Japan Tobacco commissioned a series of over 70 public service announcement

Public service announcement

A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...

style "smoking manner" posters about smoking etiquette. The ads were displayed in a wide variety of formats ranging from placards in the subway to postcards to beverage coasters.

External links

「マナーの気づき1」篇　グラフィック広告（イラスト一覧） Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco

Japan Tobacco's Delightfully Disturbing 'Smoking Manners for Adults' Ads Steve Levenstein

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