APACT 2013 Statement to the Japanese Government
Japan is the only country in the G8 that has not enacted comprehensive national
mandatory protections from the hazards of tobacco smoke exposures. This is not only anembarrassment; we are deeply concerned that this is causing a public health disaster forJapanese citizens, who have a universal human right to governmental protection of theirhealth and lives.
Background:
Article 25 of Japan’s Health Promotion Law enacted in August 2002 aims to prohibit
passive smoking in public places, but only as a call for competent persons to “try to takenecessary steps” towards this goal. The lack of any obligatory or punitive provisions
makes the law utterly insufficient. In Bangkok in July 2007, the Second Conference of theParties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC COP2),
including Japan, unanimously adopted international guidelines for implementation ofFCTC Article 8. This document urges State Parties to make all indoor workplaces andpublic spaces 100% smoke-free by the end of February 2010.

In this regard, theJapanese Government has failed in its responsibilities.
In March 2009, the Kanagawa Prefectural Government under the leadership ofGovernor Shigefumi Matsuzawa passed an ordinance for the prohibition of passive
smoking in public places. In 2012, Hyogo Prefecture followed with a similar ordinance.
Although these ordinances are flawed in that they do not require all private workplaces tobe smoke-free, and even restaurants or bars less than 100 square meters are notregulated, they were Japan’s first such local actions and demonstrate that even limited
actions can begin improving public health without harming business prosperity.
Recommendations
We, the 785 delegates from 42 countries participating in the 2013 Asia Pacific
Association for the Control of Tobacco (APACT) Conference from 18-21 August 2013 inChiba, Japan, urge the Japanese Government to fully implement the WHO FCTC withregards to all of its terms; in this regard, comprehensive national mandatory protections
from the hazards of tobacco smoke exposures should be among the highest priorities.
The roadmap for action is clear. Japan need only look to the implementing guidelines for1

FCTC Article 8, or observe the best practices in our G8 companion nations, to see how
this can be done.
We further urge the Japanese Government, particularly the Ministry of Finance, torespect and comply with FCTC Article 5.3 and its implementing guidelines, which callupon FCTC Parties to, inter alia, treat State-owned tobacco companies in the same way
as any other tobacco industry. In particular, Recommendation 8.3 insists that senior
officials from the Ministry of Finance’s tobacco and tax divisions should not serve among
the nation’s delegates at meetings of the FCTC Conference of Parties.
We finally urge the Japanese courts to carefully review the liability of Japan Tobacco
Inc (JTI) and the State for their activities in manufacturing and selling tobacco products.
We further urge the courts to provide a fair process for parties seeking justice for
tobacco-related harms including allowing for liberal discovery of tobacco industry
documents and records, and determination of decisions by the judges who were mostinvolved in hearing live witness testimony.

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