Staff writerSusumu Motojima, head of Japan Tobacco Inc.'s Kyoto branch, recently said smoking is a "pastime or habit an adult has the right to choose."

In a June symposium on smoking held in Otsu, Shiga Prefecture, Motojima said government regulation of smoking would constitute a "violation of basic human rights" and referred to the health ministry's antismoking campaign as "fascist."

The remarks came as a shock, especially to Hirotsugu Ueshima, a doctor specializing in heart disease prevention at Shiga University of Medical Science, who chaired the meeting.