Osaka To Become A Smoke-Free City By January 2025
The smoking ban is currently in place at six locations across Osaka.
By Celine Low — 18 Nov 2024, 11:32 AM
Osaka will enforce a ban on street smoking starting 27 January 2025
This move builds on a 2007 ordinance that established smoke-free zones in six designated areas, including popular tourist spots like JR Osaka Station, Ebisubashi-suji, and Shinsaibashi-suji.
In March, the Osaka Municipal Government passed a revised ordinance to extend the no-smoking restrictions to the entire city. Currently, smoking is prohibited on streets and sidewalks within these six zones, with violators facing only a 1,000 yen fine (approximately RM29). According to reports, authorities are considering increasing fines, particularly for repeat offenders.
To accommodate smokers, the government plans to increase the number of designated smoking stations to over 300 by early next year.
Osaka joins a growing number of Japanese cities implementing no-smoking regulations
Tokyo has already established designated outdoor smoking areas in many of its wards, with fines for smoking outside these zones.
Other cities, including Kyoto, Fukuoka, Shinjuku, and Shibuya, have also implemented similar measures to limit smoking in public spaces and protect residents from secondhand smoke.
Meanwhile, indoor smoking has been completely prohibited at government, educational, medical, and child welfare establishments since 2019. Additionally, bullet trains in Japan have gone smoke-free since March, with train operator Japan Railway removing enclosed "smoking rooms" on their trains. Smoking is also prohibited on buses and aeroplanes.
