The health ministry is drawing up a plan to halve the smoking rate in Japan from 23.4 percent in 2009 to 10 percent. Unfortunately, the plan is tucked into a long-range health promotion plan from 2013 to 2022.
Considering that the percentage of smokers stood at 38.2 percent among men and 10.9 percent among women in 2009, according to the health ministry's own statistics, one wonders what the slow, cautious approach is all about?
Quite simply, it is too little too late.