Travel

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

Owners of small restaurants and bars can decide whether to allow smoking, and customers can choose for themselves whether to patronize them.

Katarina Hall | From the June 2026 issue

Share on FacebookShare on XShare on RedditShare by emailPrint friendly versionCopy page URL Add Reason to Google

Media Contact & Reprint Requests

(Photo: EyeEm Mobile GmbH/iStock)

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........

© Reason.com