Despite being one of the first countries to enact legislation on the matter, the question of if you can smoke in Japan is a complex one. This is in that it has some of the strictest smoking laws around, but you can also smoke in a lot of bloody places.
This is though very in line with everything about the complexities and indeed oppressive of sorts in Japan. So, what are the rules about lighting up in Japan.
The laws on smoking in Japan
Japan has had some form of smoking regulation for decades, with the first bans on smoking in certain public places dating back to the late 1970s. These were originally aimed at stopping people puffing away on trains and buses, not because of health, but because of manners. In the 1990s certain prefectures started experimenting with outdoor bans in busy areas like Shibuya or around temples, again more to stop cigarette butts on the street than to save your lungs.
Fast forward to now and the law is a bit of a Frankenstein. Since 2020 there has been a national ban on smoking indoors in large restaurants, schools, hospitals and government buildings. That sounds tough until you see the small print. If the bar or eatery is under a certain size or is run by the owner themselves, they can choose to remain smoking friendly.
This is why you can walk out of one smoke free bar into the next place and it smells like a 1980s pub in Essex. The government like to make a show of protecting public health, but they also know smoking is still part of the culture and tax revenue. So the end result is a muddle of rules, grey areas and contradictions that only Japan could pull off.
So you can smoke in Japan inside, but not outside?
Well this is where it gets interesting as while most every country has banned smoking inside for all intents Japan has done the opposite. I will get into how this works in bars and restaurants in a bit but outside at least you should not smoke, for the most part.
In actuality there are tons of outdoor smoking areas everywhere from the controversial shrine to train stations. And they are full of people as well, it appears the Japanese like to smoke. Now it should also be added that the outdoor part works so well as Japanese, well they love rules. Foreigners and Japanese often flaunt this without repercussions.
So, you can smoke inside in Japan?
Of course I am a smoker so have some bias on this, but Japan seems to have one of the more advanced systems with this. Basically businesses make their own choice here, so this means many restaurants are smoke free, but some are not.
Bars also tend to be smoking friendly, or the ones that are smoke free might have a smoking room inside. This is also so that you do not smoke outside. Are you following?
This means YES at chicken sashimi, but no at muscle girls.
And vaping?
Sadly vaping in Japan and smoking in Japan are not the same things, with the country allowing vapes BUT not allowing vapes with nicotine inside them. You know like non alcoholic drinks. I asked about this in a smoke shop and even the Japanese lady seemed somewhat perplexed by things.
They do though for the most part allow the devils candy that is those tobacco burning products like Iqos.
Oh and the airports…
Japan’s airports are a smoker’s dream. Not only do most terminals have multiple smoking lounges, but they are spotless, air conditioned and often equipped with vending machines selling cigarettes. You can find them landside and airside, sometimes hidden down a corridor like a secret club. Haneda, Narita, Kansai and even small airports like Fukuoka have them.
Unlike most countries where you are forced outside into the rain like a criminal, in Japan you can step into a bright glass box, light up before your flight and stroll to the gate without smelling like an ashtray. Even domestic flight areas often have them. It is one of the last places on earth where flying and smoking still feel like they belong in the same sentence.
Oh and they sell Che cigarettes…..
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