Japan: Tougher Rules Eyed for Tobacco Shops

Source from:  Jiji Press 06/03/2014

The Finance Ministry will strengthen a regulation on opening cigarette shops in a bid to avoid excessive competition among retailers amid falling sales.

After seeking public opinion, the ministry plans to introduce the tougher regulation in August.

If realized, it would be the first review of cigarette shop regulations in 16 years.

Under the current regulations, new cigarette shops cannot open within a certain distance of existing outlets. As an exception, a new outlet can open near an existing shop with weak cigarette sales.

The ministry plans to review this exception. For cigarette shops in urban areas, the ministry plans to designate an outlet with average sales of fewer than 15,000 cigarettes per month over six months as a weak one, down from the current threshold of 25,000. Enditem