Japan's parliament a smoke-free zone, lawmakers decide
AP , TOKYO
Saturday, Feb 07, 2004,Page 5
Smoke-filled backrooms are becoming a thing of the past in Japan's parliament following a smoking ban by lawmakers.
The ban -- started in rooms and hallways in the lower house and adopted last month in the upper house -- is the latest step against second-hand smoke in Japan, a nation known for its passion for lighting up.
The decision followed the passage last year by parliament of a law that encourages employers to ban smoking or provide separate non-smoking areas to combat smoke-related diseases, said parliament spokeswoman Takae Minegishi.
Ashtrays were removed last month from the halls and rooms adjoining the main chamber of the upper house, following a similar move in 2002 by the lower house. Lawmakers who want a cigarette break from the action in the main chamber -- where smoking has long been banned -- now have to light up in new glass-partitioned booths outside.
The ban was pushed by a nonpartisan group of about 100 anti-tobacco lawmakers trying to make all parts of the 480-seat Parliament smokefree.
"This was an obvious thing to do after the Health Promotion Law was passed," said Shinji Komiyama, an aide to lawmaker Yoko Komiya, one of the group's organizers. "We are calling for every committee to be smokefree as well."
Moves against cigarettes have been slow in coming in Japan, which has one of the highest smoking rates in the developed world. About 48 percent of Japanese men and 14 percent of Japanese women smoke, according to a recent survey by cigarette company Japan Tobacco Inc.
But over the past 10 years, no-smoking sections have appeared in restaurants and smokers on outdoor train platforms are limited to marked areas.
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