Japan and Tobacco

In the early seventeenth century the Tokugawa Shogun banned tobacco cultivation and imposed strict penalties for violators. Such policies eventually turned to ash: by 1725 the Shogunate unrestricted the industry in order to bail them out of financial dire straits. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare reported that in 2005 Japan had roughly 30.2 million smokers—around 25% of the population. Indeed, Japan has become one of the smokiest nations in the developed world.  In 1999 the Health and Welfare announced its ambition to cut the number of smokers by 50% by 2010—they have so far managed a reduction of roughly 7%. A look at the social, commercial and legal landscape of Japan reveals why this target was unrealistic.

Most obviously there is the fact of Japan Tobacco—the third largest tobacco company in the world that most recently acquired Britain’s Gallher Group for $15billion, the largest ever international acquisition ever made by a Japanese company. From 1904 until 1985 the Ministry of Finance had a monopoly on domestic tobacco companies and still remains the largest shareholder in Japan Tobacco. In the past 10 years Japan Tobacco has come under the same pressures that other tobacco companies have faced in the US and Europe. Some civil movements have grown more vociferous and powerful and, even despite the best efforts of Japan Tobacco and  it’s government allies, more and more restrictions have come in. However, the pace of regulation has been slower and implementation has often been half-hearted, at least in part due to the government tie-in with profits from cigarette sales whether it be from tax revenue or dividends from their financial stakes in the industry.

Japan joined the WHO’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2004. This obliged the government to free public health policy of influence from the tobacco industry as well restricting its ability to have any say on attempts to diversify away from tobacco production in agriculture at a global level. However, the wording of the convention failed to tie Japan to any real financial or legal commitments—regulations concerning health warning labels is much weaker here than in other countries. Additionally, although the legal age for buying cigarettes in Japan is 20, the ubiquity of cigarette vending machines means that there is little to prevent even very young children from getting their hands on tobacco. To be fair, we approached Japan Tobacco on this issue and they told us that they are very much involved in developing an adult identification system that could be fitted to vending machines in accordance with their firm belief that ‘minors should not smoke’. On the other hand, a cynic might point to the elementary school education programs it runs on salt (http://www.jti.co.jp/Culture/museum/) and question the motives of their involvement.

According to various media reports, Japan Tobacco apparently tried to block moves by the government to restrict smoking in public places by asking its employees to oppose such action in an Internet opinion poll (see http://search.japantimes.co.jp/ cgi-bin/eo20070528kh.html). In a sense the media should not really be surprised by this and Japan Tobacco told us quite openly that ‘While JT believe appropriate and proportionate regulation on smoking is necessary, the company has made great efforts toward promoting a society in which smokers and non-smokers can coexist in harmony’—such as helping create designated smoking areas. It is easy to be cynical about such moves (the company also advertise ‘tidy smoking’: http://www. conbinibento.com/photos/index.php?gallery=./Smoking%20 Manners) but really the debate is a social and legal one— corporations do what they can to survive and in a democracy such as Japan, citizens are ultimately accountable for the social and legal context.

And this context is changing. In an article for the American Journal of Japanese Law, Eric A Feldman wrote that ‘the tobacco establishment expresses alarm at the prevalence of ‘tobacco bashing’ in Japan, and at least anecdotally smokers are increasingly apologetic when they light up’. Advertising has been restricted, litigation has taken place and smoker numbers have fallen. It seems that slowly Japan is following US and European trends in this regard. But there are of course some unique trends that are of interest. Having always had a much lower proportion of female smokers than in Western countries, this figure seems to be on the rise as the parameters of masculine and feminine undergo change. In this sense smoking is gaining a new glamour and sexiness. While smoker numbers are slowly decreasing, social norms in Japan seem to evolve over different time scales and should not be presumed to fall into US or European teleology. One writer has depicted the growth in young female smokers as a perception change of smoking from a ‘social taboo’ to a ‘torch of freedom’. (http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/9/1/3)

Last week the United Kingdom implemented legislation banning smoking in all enclosed spaces and places of work—could such a thing happen in Japan? The answer must be yes, but that it would take a much longer time for it to come about because of the persistent differences in perceptions of smoking.  The question also forces us to revisit the paradox that for all its homogeneity and apparent inclination for uniformity, not to mention the links between the government, industry and bureaucracy, Japan is an extremely free country to live in. By contrast British and US citizens face much higher levels of surveillance and as the recent terror plot in the UK shows— where there is no smoke there may still be fire.

Smoking may quite literally be a social cancer but in the case of Japan the responsibility for this must lie as much with society as it does with Japan Tobacco—and if choosing to smoke is a freedom then it is a choice that must be respected. And, for better or worse, there is little government targets can do to change it.

By Peter Harris Chief Editor, J@pan Inc magazine

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