Japan’s Smoking Bans Make a Lot More Sense Than America’s

Walk into three different bars in Tokyo, and you may have three completely different experiences: one bar thick with cigarette smoke, one with a sealed glass smoking room humming in the corner, and one entirely smoke-free.

Within regulatory boundaries, the choice often lies with both the owner and the customer: Proprietors decide what kind of space they want to run, and patrons decide which environment they prefer. Compare that to much of the United States, where indoor smoking is broadly prohibited by state or local law. Roughly 82.4 percent of Americans are covered by 100 percent smoke-free rules in workplaces, restaurants, and bars, largely removing the decision from the marketplace.

Like many other countries, Japan regulates smoking heavily. The 2020 revision of the Health Promotion Act introduced major restrictions on indoor smoking in public places such as parks, government buildings, hospitals, and most workplaces.

In many Japanese cities, smoking on the street is restricted as well. You can’t simply light a cigarette while standing outside or walking down the sidewalk. Instead, smokers must seek out designated areas—small smoking stations separated by glass or plastic partitions and equipped with ashtrays. Lighting up outside these areas can lead to fines of up to 300,000 yen ($1,890).

At first glance, Japan’s system might appear stricter than the rules in the U.S., where indoor smoking is banned but outdoor smoking is generally tolerated. But Japan’s laws leave surprising room for flexibility, especially inside private venues such as bars and restaurants.

Article 25 of the Health Promotion Act does not simply mandate that every public place be entirely smoke-free. Instead, it encourages businesses to take “appropriate passive smoking prevention measures.” In practice, this leaves room for several exceptions.

One of the most significant is the small-business exception. Restaurants and bars with a floor space of 100 square meters or less—the size of many neighborhood bars in Tokyo—can allow indoor smoking as long as they post a sign at the entrance indicating that smoking is permitted. Small businesses with no employees also can allow smoking.

That matters because small, owner-operated establishments are very common in Japan. Many bars consist of a counter, a handful of stools, and a single person running the entire operation. For some of these venues, the ability to smoke while drinking or eating is part of their appeal.

“I personally don’t like smoking inside, but at our bar there are definitely customers who see smoking at the counter as an essential part of the bar experience,” says Keith Tanaka, who runs a bar in Roppongi. “At the same time, we know that other guests are uncomfortable with smoke, so finding the right balance is never easy.”

Since “smoking on the street is also restricted,” Tanaka adds, customers who cannot smoke inside “often have to leave for a small designated smoking area, which can lower satisfaction and break the flow of the experience. In practice, we do everything we can to manage the environment responsibly. We run strong ventilation, use several air circulators and air purifiers, and even operate large humidifiers because the air becomes too dry. That is the reality of trying to balance comfort, culture, and day-to-day bar operations.”

When venues are larger or have employees, smoking is generally banned throughout the space. But owners may install designated smoking rooms that meet ventilation and sealing requirements. Anyone who has spent time in Tokyo’s nightlife district has likely seen them: glass-walled rooms tucked into the corner of a restaurant or bar where customers can sit, drink, and order food while smoking.

Physical spaces are not the only way Japanese regulations address smoking. The rules also distinguish between cigarettes and newer tobacco products such as Philip Morris’ IQOS or Japan Tobacco’s Ploom. Because these products heat tobacco rather than burn it, regulators consider them less intrusive and treat them differently from traditional cigarettes. As a result, some venues that prohibit regular cigarettes still allow heated tobacco products.

All of this can feel complicated, but the underlying pattern is simple: Within the legal framework, owners can still shape the atmosphere of their establishments.

During a recent visit to Tokyo, I asked a friend who owns a small bar why his venue allowed some forms of smoking but not others. His answer was straightforward: He allows heated tobacco products because that’s what he smokes.

For customers, choosing a bar in Tokyo often means choosing an environment as well. Someone who dislikes cigarette smoke can avoid it. Someone who enjoys smoking with a drink can seek out places where that is permitted.

Japan once leaned further toward consumer choice than it does today. Before the 2020 restrictions, smoking inside restaurants and bars was far more common. Today’s patchwork of exemptions and designated spaces is, in many ways, the remnant of that earlier system.

That remnant still offers something interesting. In Tokyo, the air inside a bar is not determined entirely by government regulators. Sometimes it is the choice of the person behind the counter and the people who choose to walk through the door.