Aug 14 (Japan Times) - The government has drafted legislation for regulating passive smoking that will ban smoking basically at all frequently used public spaces, but left undecided how small restaurants should be for the exception to the rule, sources close to the matter said Sunday.
The government had originally planned to submit a relevant bill to revise the Health Promotion Law to the previous ordinary Diet session that ended in June but failed to do so due to discord between the health ministry and the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over how strictly an indoor smoking ban should be applied to restaurants.
The government and the LDP have come under heavy pressure from the tobacco and restaurant industries, which have expressed reservations about stronger anti-smoking measures.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has insisted that indoor smoking at restaurants should basically be banned at all restaurants, excluding small bars and other establishments with a floor space of up to 30 sq. meters, while the LDP preferred looser regulation.
The LDP, led by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, supports legislation that will allow indoor smoking at restaurants with a floor space of up to 150 sq. meters as long as they put up a sign that smoking is allowed inside the restaurants or that smoking is allowed only in a separate area within the establishments.
