Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is to push for a law banning smoking in public places to make the Japanese capital smoke-free ahead of the 2020 Summer Olympics, media said, defying national politicians who failed to pass a similar law this spring.
Tokyo risks being one of the unhealthiest cities to host the Olympics in years, but efforts for a national ban died in the face of opposition from pro-smoking politicians — many in Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ruling party — as well as restaurateurs and Japan Tobacco, which is one-third government-owned and paid the state US$700 million in dividends in 2015.
Although passive smoking kills thousands of Japanese each year, the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare’s watered-down plan — which would have allowed smoking inside smaller establishments with adequate ventilation — could not make it to a vote in the Diet this spring.
Koike, her hand strengthened by a sweeping victory over Abe’s party in local elections over the weekend, told the Nikkei Shimbun that a law banning indoor smoking could be submitted to the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly, where her party and allies now have a strong majority, for a vote as soon as this autumn.
“The country is slow, but we will carry out our duty as the host city,” the newspaper quoted Koike as saying.
Tokyo’s proposed law, part of the election platform of Koike’s Tokyo Citizens First party, would ban smoking in all public places under penalty of fines. It could include provisions for “nonsmoking efforts” in private homes and cars with children.
A 2003 national law now “encourages” restaurants and other public areas to separate smoking and nonsmoking areas, but noncompliance attracts no penalty.
Tokyo faces pressure to go smoke-free by 2020 from bodies such as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the WHO — which ranks Japan at the bottom worldwide in anti-smoking regulations, gauged by the types of public places entirely smoke-free.
The WHO has teamed up with the IOC to guarantee smoke-free Games venues.
Rio de Janeiro and other recent Olympic hosts banned smoking in all public places.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite