Updated 16th March 2005
Under Health Promotion Law, which has been effective since 1995, smoking is prohibited in hospitals and other health facilities, in schools, and in kindergartens. Smoking is also prohibited on public transport, including airplanes, buses, and in subways. Following amendments to Health Promotion Law in 2003, smoking is also prohibited on all trains, including Inter-city trains.
A number of other public places are required to be either smoke-free, or to have a designated smoking area with a ventilation system installed. These include:
- Office buildings with a floor area of more than 3,000 square metres, and complex buildings with a floor area of more than 2,000 square metres
- Facilities where performances take place with more than 300 seats
- Institutes with a floor area of more than 1,000 square metres
- Mass shopping centres and underground shopping malls
- Accommodation for tourists
- Sports grounds or physical training facilities with seated areas
- Social welfare facilities
- Waiting lounges, entrances, subways and vehicles for over 16 people used for the carriage of members of the public at the airport, piers, railroad stations and bus terminals
- Public bathhouses
- Game shops or shops serving cultural materials
- Food courts and general restaurants with a floor area of more than 150 square metres
- Shops that lend comics (under the Youth Protection Law)
- Government buildings with a floor area of more than 1000 square metres
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