Japan indisputably is the top smokers' paradise in the industrial world, as well as in East Asia, where China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Taiwan are tightening restrictions on smoking. In Japan, smoking is allowed in many government and company offices, restaurants and taxis. Some hospitals do not restrict smoking either. Even though merchants voluntarily shut down cigarette vending machines at night, there are no controls on the locations of the machines. No less than 630,000 cigarette vending machines are in operation nationwide.
Of the seven major industrial countries, cigarette prices in relation to local wages are the lowest in Japan, according to data released by the World Health Organization in February. In Tokyo, the price of a standard pack of 20 cigarettes is equivalent to eight minutes of work, compared with 20 minutes in Los Angeles and 40 minutes in London.
The Finance Ministry owns the nation's only cigarette manufacturer. Japan's tobacco-business law is aimed at promoting the "sound development of the tobacco industry." Many lawmakers belong to the tobacco lobby, courting votes from some 300,000 tobacco merchants and 23,000 tobacco farmers by looking after their interests rather than those of consumers.