Japan Tobacco Rises After Mainichi Report on Cigarette Taxes

Source from:  Bloomberg 12/03/2009

Japan Tobacco Inc. shares opened 4.9 percent higher after a newspaper said that a planned increase in tobacco taxes may be less than the amount proposed by the Health Ministry. The shares opened at 270,000 yen in Tokyo trading, up 12,700. The Japanese government may increase tobacco taxes by as much as 3 yen a cigarette starting April next year, the Mainichi newspaper reported, without saying where it obtained the information. The Health Ministry had proposed a plan to raise the taxes to 10 yen a cigarette, the report said. Enditem