The Japanese city of Osaka has imposed a ban on smoking in the streets a few weeks from receiving the Universal Exhibition which will attract millions of foreign visitors since Monday Monday.
“The universal exhibition begins in April, we want to welcome many people from around the world. So we want to make Osaka a city where people feel safe with smoke -free streets, “said Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama in early January by revealing this decision.
Nearly 160 countries or regions must participate in Expo-2025 from April 13 to October 13, a global event organized every five years.
The Osaka authorities have extended to the whole city the ban that already existed in six areas, including the district around the station. The offenders are exposed to a fine of 1000 yen (just under 6 €).
In Japan, it is already forbidden to smoke by walking in most places, smokers being parked in cramped places installed in stations or gardens for example.
Reinforced prohibition in restaurants
From April, the Osaka region will also prohibit smoking in restaurants whose sitting surface is greater than 30 m², unless the establishments have a smoking room. In Japan, the current law prohibits cigarettes in establishments whose sitting surface is more than 100 m².
The 2025 Expo-2025, installed on an artificial island at the entrance to the city, arouses doubts due to the slowness of ticket sales and worry the Japanese for the financial cost, in particular concerning the construction budget. Nearly 7.5 million tickets were sold in early January for the event which is due to last six months, less than half of the organizers’ objective.
In Japan, tax revenues generated by tobacco report around 2,000 billion yen (11.6 billion €). The state also holds a third of the shares of Japan Tobacco, the third largest tobacco company in the world.
Tobacco consumption in Japan is down, like a larger global trend, with a rate of smokers of 15.7% in 2023.
In Europe, Milan is one of the big cities to have banned cigarettes in its streets since January 1ᵉʳ.
