Japan to Require Notification for Smoking-Oriented Facilities

Tokyo, July 16 (Jiji Press)--An expert panel of Japan's health ministry Thursday broadly agreed on a plan to introduce a notification system for smoking-oriented facilities as part of efforts to prevent passive smoking.

Meanwhile, the panel, which has been reviewing measures against secondhand smoking, stopped short of strengthening regulations on heated tobacco products.

The revised health promotion law, which went into force in April 2020, bans indoor smoking at various facilities, including restaurants, in principle. Customers at smoking-oriented facilities, such as bars, are allowed to smoke inside such establishments.

In the draft proposal, the panel said that some facilities that do not meet the requirements for such facilities are operating as such, and local governments are unable to accurately grasp the actual situation.

Against this background, the panel aims to introduce a notification system for smoking-oriented facilities to ensure that administrative guidance reaches all relevant establishments.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]