TOKYO - Tokyo's Toshima Ward announced on November 11th plans to impose administrative penalties of up to 20,000 yen for street smoking and littering, extending its smoking ban to heated tobacco products as complaints about public smoking and illegal dumping continue to rise.
According to the ward government, complaints about street smoking and littering have increased approximately 1.4-fold over the past five years, prompting officials to revise existing ordinances and introduce stronger enforcement measures.
Toshima Mayor Miyuki Takagiwa said at a press conference that the ward hopes to strengthen deterrence by deploying teams of enforcement officers authorized to impose penalties. "I hope that having teams of inspectors patrol the streets and collect penalties, and Toshima Ward taking a more decisive approach following Shibuya Ward's example, will serve as a deterrent," she said.
The proposed revisions would add heated tobacco products to the street smoking ban and explicitly prohibit the illegal disposal of suitcases, with both violations subject to administrative penalties of up to 20,000 yen. Enforcement would initially focus on areas around Ikebukuro Station and Otsuka Station, where complaints about smoking and littering have been particularly frequent.
Toshima Ward has prohibited smoking lit cigarettes on public streets and littering throughout the ward since 2011, with patrol officers conducting regular inspections and providing guidance to offenders. However, the existing ordinance does not impose penalties for street smoking, while littering carries a criminal fine of up to 20,000 yen that has never been imposed.
To address this problem, the ward plans to replace the criminal fine system, which requires lengthy procedures before penalties can be collected, with administrative penalties that can be collected on the spot.
Takagiwa said other municipalities that have introduced similar administrative penalties generally charge around 2,000 yen, but questioned whether such a small amount would be sufficient to discourage repeat offenses.
"Administrative penalties must make offenders recognize that they have broken the rules and feel that they will never do it again," she said. "I don't think a small amount would have much impact, so we will determine the specific amount through regulations, within the maximum limit of 20,000 yen."
The ward will conduct a public consultation on the proposed revisions in December before submitting the amended ordinance to the ward assembly's regular session in February 2027.
Officials aim to implement the revised rules during the fiscal year beginning in April 2027, with administrative penalties scheduled to take effect in July 2027.
Source: TOKYO MX
