Smoking in Japan

Smoking in Japan, though historically less restricted by law than in many other nations, has significantly changed in recent years. Tobacco use has been in nearly constant decline since 1996 and the decline has been mainly accelerating in recent years.Per capita consumption of cigarettes in 2015 was 1,618 sticks, roughly 46% of the peak figure in 1977 and a number last seen in 1956.

Until 1985, the tobacco industry was a government-run monopoly; the government of Japan is still involved in the industry through the Ministry of Finance, which after a sell-off in March 2013, now owns only one third of Japan Tobacco's outstanding stock, and the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, which is active in public health and other tobacco control policy making.

The Diet of Japan has many MPs who have interests in the tobacco industry and thus tobacco control legislation is uncommon.

Non-smoking areas are becoming increasingly common in Japan, in homes, offices, restaurants, fast-food eateries, "family restaurants," pachinko parlors, and public areas.Kanagawa Prefecture enacted Japan's first smoke-free public places ordinance in 2009 and Hyogo Prefecture followed with a similar law in 2012. All trains either have non-smoking cars or are completely smoking-free, as are many train station platforms in urban areas.

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 6 August 2013, the price of a typical pack of cigarettes ranged from 410 to 440 yen. Because of the hike in the consumption sales tax to 8% on 1 April 2014, the range is now 430 to 460 yen.

In 2015, the adult smoking rate was 19.3%, 29.7% of Japanese men and 9.7% of Japanese women. This is the lowest recorded figure since Japan Tobacco began surveying in 1965. As of July 2016, just over 20 million people smoked in Japan, though the nation remained one of the world's largest tobacco markets.

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