Cigarettes banned of Tokyo's streets
From "Lonely Planet Online"
Asian Capitals Cleaning Up Their Acts
On the same day that central Tokyo banned smoking on its streets, Beijing has introduced strict new laws to put the clampers on spitting and littering in the Chinese capital. Japan's reputation as a tobacco addicts' paradise has been dealt a major blow with a new regulation to help keep Tokyo litter-free and cut down on the number of incidents where people are burned by passing smokers. While 50 uniformed 'cigarette patrol officers' will initially only issue warnings, as of next month anyone caught smoking on certain busy streets more than once will face a 20,000 yen (US$164) fine. An estimated 53 percent of Japanese men are smokers.
Beijing, meanwhile, has decided that spitting in public - a common practice in most of China where it is regarded as a natural and necessary bodily function - is out. The ban is part of a campaign to spruce up the capital, which plays host to a Communist Party congress next month and the Olympics in 2008. Litterers are also up for a fine, and anyone posting unauthorised leaflets or advertisements will be fined 1000 yuan (US$120). China has pledged to invest billions of dollars in preparations for the 2008 Olympics, including spending on a massive construction binge, an environmental clean-up and a campaign to teach taxi drivers English.
Banning smoking on Tokyo sidewalks?
What a ridiculous concept. OK... OK... maybe the stray ash or a puff of smoke might meet a passer by on the incredibly congested sidewalks of downtown Tokyo, but I hardly think that there are many cases of people being burned directly by cigarettes themselves.
The Japanese have always been so conscientious about smoking habits. Japan was the first place where I found portable pocket ashtrays that snap open and shut like a little change purse. They're really kind of neat, you simply put the lit cigarette in the pouch, seal and snap it closed, and the lack of oxygen puts it out before it gets too hot to melt the ashtray pouch itself.
Also the Japanese are one of the first to put instructions on the side of the pack of cigarettes that explains how to separate the cellophane from the empty pack and put each in the right recycle bins.
Read the article I linked from the Japan Times... it's pretty funny... "One woman caught by the ward's antismoking patrols threw 30,000 yen in disgust at the officials' feet."
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/...20021102a3.htm