Land of the Rising Smoke

As Japan's anti-smoking movement gains traction, its days of being a smoker's paradise may be numbered

Wandering around Osaka on a Sunday afternoon a few months ago, I stumbled upon a cafe called Organic Life. With the vegetarian-friendly menu, slow food magazines on display, soft jazz, and cozy at-home vibe, it was clear this place was all about the wellbeing of its customers. After a short wait, I got a table, ordered an organic coffee and a slice of organic cake, and sat back to marvel at my find. Just then, I heard the click of a lighter and turned to see a middle-aged man taking a deep drag off a cigarette. I was engulfed by his tobacco cloud. My scowls went unnoticed as a sad realization sank in: everything on the menu at Organic Life comes with a side of toxic smoke.
Japan is a country where it's commonplace for people with a cold to don a face mask to stop their germs from spreading, but pretty unheard of for smokers to show such concern about their emissions. Although being mindful of neighbors seems to be hardwired into Japanese DNA, the default stance still somehow favors smokers, whose numbers have fallen to 25% of the adult population. So why is it that Japan, a country so advanced in so many ways, still hasn't gotten its act together when it comes to meaningful tobacco laws? My inquiry into this led me to a community of Japanese anti-smoking crusaders.

The first I encountered was Dr. Manabu Sakuta, a 61-year-old retired professor of internal medicine and neurology who chairs the board of directors of the Japan Society for Tobacco Control. Their aim is to educate the public about the dangers of smoking, help smokers quit, and pressure legislators to enact a smoking ban that would protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke. Dr. Sakuta explained that the Japanese government's surprisingly pro-tobacco policies are the result of its major stake in Japan Tobacco, one of the biggest cigarette makers in the world.

A Japan Tobacco representative explained why they don't particularly care for a full ban. "Statistics prove that smoking and secondhand smoke do not result in ill effects like lung cancer. Tobacco is a luxury grocery item sanctioned by the Japanese government and we just sell it." She went on to say that the real issue of tobacco is the "heartless smokers" who burn children on the street and toss their cigarettes on the ground, a belief lawmakers seem to share, which is why Tokyo and other cities like Osaka and Nagoya have banned sidewalk smoking in some busy areas.

"Japan Tobacco's manner campaign is a fraud," Sakuta told me. "JT uses their in-pocket famous doctors, Diet members, Ministry of Finance bureaucrats, mass media, and even ordinary smokers" to work toward stifling regulation. The Japan Society for Tobacco Control, though lacking in funds, is replete with doctors, lawyers, and even government employees among its members–that number in the thousands. The organization stages monthly protests, publishes anti-smoking literature, has its doctors lecture schoolchildren, holds anti-smoking commercial contests, and even initiates lawsuits. "If you can get someone to quit smoking," Sakuta said, "you can save their life."

Although Japan Tobacco insists the solution lies in harmonious separation between smoking and non-smoking areas, Sakuta feels that a strictly enforced ban along the lines of New York or London is the only way to go.

With that in mind, I set out on a rainy October evening to check out a few places in Osaka that have put their own smoking bans in place. My first stop was an omelette-rice chain in Shinsaibashi called Hokkyokusei. Sitting in seiza on the tatami floor, I asked the woman next to me how she felt about cigarette smoke. She told me she dislikes breathing it but accepts it when she has to. The manager said they banned smoking just two years ago to attract more families and people with "weak hearts," and though at first business took a hit, it has returned to normal.

After that, I made my way over to Take-5 to observe one of the nation's most endangered species—the smoke-free bar. "No smoking handicaps you from the getgo," a local bartender recently told me. Chatting with the friendly owner, Shuji Sakaguchi, who is 57, it was sad to be amid such emptiness in his beautifully laid out space. "At the beginning, I allowed smoking because many customers wanted it," he said. "But after a few years I grew to hate it, so I took the ashtrays away. Then customers stopped coming." He admitted this move was "a little crazy", but doesn't regret it.

Next I hit Bootleg Tavern, where owner, Tim Oba, banned smoking on the first of the year. After 17 years of his customers' smoke, this 54-year-old couldn't take it anymore. "This will never be a smoking bar again," he told me. "Now my phlegm is clear. Before, it was dark, and I'm not even a smoker!" But some of his regulars aren't as pleased. "I don't like him because he don't let me smoke," the "millionaire" whined to me in slurred English when Oba snatched the cigarette he was putting in his mouth. "He always says he's not coming back," Oba said, "but then he does." An alternate view was eloquently expressed by a young, bespectacled doctor with a goatee who waxed on the sundry joys of the smoke-free experience: "The alcohol smells and tastes better," he said, and ordered me a whiskey to demonstrate his point. "Sushi also," he went on until the "millionaire" cut in, putting his arm around me and shouting, "I'm leaving because I can't smoke here!" But he stayed, fidgeting with his pack, joining in the repartee in a scene that struck me as a Japanese version of Cheers.

In my quest for more places, I came across a website called Kin-en Style, which lists 15,000 non-smoking venues all over Japan. It was launched four years ago by Takuya Iwasaki, 29, a web programmer from Osaka (now living in Kanagawa) who was fed up with secondhand smoke. Two years later, Isamu Nozaki, a 45-year-old technical translator, approached Iwasaki with his idea for an English site for foreigners, which became Smoke-Free Style. At a Starbucks in Honmachi, I asked this Osaka native why Kansai seemed more sluggish than its rival Kanto in clamping down on smoking. "Compared to other Japanese," he said, "Kansai people generally don't like to be forced by authorities to do something, especially in Osaka," a place with more smokers than average and a culture that is arguably a bit more in your face. But if Kin-en Style's over 150,000 unique monthly visitors are any indication, it's safe to say the demand for clean air is on the rise.

So will Japan ever have a countrywide smoking ban? Dr. Sakuta is optimistic, especially because of the new government. "With the Democratic Party of Japan ruling now, they can change things overnight since they have more than 50% stock." And even if they don't, it's already happening on a prefectural level. In Kanagawa, the most ambitious ban yet goes into effect in April of next year. And who knows—maybe this will catch on and reach Osaka, pushing Organic Life to live up to its name by adding smoke-free air to the menu.

Smoke-free watering holes:

Bootleg Tavern, Osaka. Elegance Bldg 1F, 1-15-11 Nippo Suoumachi, Higashi-Shinsaibashi. Chuo-ku. Open Mon-Sat 7pm-3am and 6pm-12am Sundays. Tel: 06-6245-4748

Take-5, Osaka. 2F 3-5-15 Shikitsu-Higashi, Naniwa-ku. Open 12pm-9pm weekdays. Tel: 06-664-1139

Beer Cafe Barley, Kobe. Liberty 2 Bldg 2F, 1-15 Nagata-cho Nishinomiya-shi. Open 1pm-12am daily, closed Tuesdays. Tel: 0798-65-6135. www.beercafe.jp

Wine Bistro: Tsukian, Kyoto. Northwest corner at Shimogamohondori-Kitaoji Sakyo-ku. Open daily 5:30pm-10:30pm, closed Tuesdays. Tel: 075-712-5586. www.tsukian.com

Solviva Café, Osaka. Shinsaibashi Urban Bldg 1F, 1-2-4 Nishi-Shinsaibashi. Chuo-ku. Open daily 10:30am-8pm. Tel: 06-6241-5757. www.solviva.net

Hokkyoukuse, Osaka. 2-7-27 Nishi-Shinsaibashi, Chuo-ku. Open daily 11:30am-9:30pm. Tel: 06-6211-7829. (Also many locations throughout Osaka.) www.hokkyokusei.jp/

Ootoya, Osaka. Art Masters Shinsaibashi Bldg 2F, 1-15-13 Nishi-Shinsaibashi. Open daily 11am-11pm. Tel: 06-6120-5047. www.ootoya.com

Ootoya, Kyoto. NGosho Ame Bldg 2F, Sanjo-dori Kawaramachi Higaishi-iru, Nakagyo-ku. Open daily 10am-11pm. Tel: 075-255-4811

Satoyama Dining, Osaka. Hankyu Terminal Bldg 17F, 1-1-4, Shibata, Kita-ku. Open daily 11am-10:30pm. Tel: 06-6375-3623. r.gnavi.co.jp/k593000/

Vale, Kobe. Casa A1 Bldg 1F, 14-15 Tashiro-cho Nishinomiya-shi. Open daily lunch 11:30am-3pm; dinner 6pm-10pm. Tel: 07-9865-9559. www.vida-corp.com/vale

Kura Sushi, Osaka (Umeda). 3-9-1 Toyozaki Kita-ku. Open daily 11am-11pm. Tel: 06-6292-3052. (Also many locations throughout Kansai.) www.kura-corpo.co.jp/

www.kinen-style.com lists non-smoking venues all over Japan. Scroll down and click on 'English' to access Smoke-Free Style.

Text: Daniel Krieger
Illustration: Phil Couzens