Japan: High Court Says Smokers Responsible for Checking Street Smoking Restrictions

Source from:  Mainichi Daily News (jp)  06/30/2014

The Tokyo High Court on June 26 scrapped a lower court ruling that had let a man evade a fine for smoking in a no-smoking zone in Yokohama, saying he had a responsibility to check the local smoking regulations before lighting up.

The Yokohama District Court had earlier ruled in favor of the man, a resident of Tokyo, after he filed a lawsuit seeking to have a 2,000 yen fine dismissed, but the Yokohama Municipal Government filed an appeal.

In handing down the latest ruling, Presiding Judge Koichi Tamura said that bans on smoking on Japanese streets were spreading nationwide.

"Restrictions on smoking on streets represent a trend of the times," the presiding judge said. "The man had a responsibility to check whether smoking was banned in the area before he smoked."

According to Japan Tobacco Inc., a total of 199 local bodies across Japan had restrictions on smoking on streets as of the end of March this year, and some, like Yokohama, impose fines for violations.

The high court ruling places a heavy onus on smokers to check whether they can light up in particular areas, and could affect how other local bodies apply their ordinances.

The man had argued that the signs indicating the area he was in was a no-smoking district were small, resulting in him being unaware of the restriction. The Yokohama District Court accepted his claim, but in the latest ruling Tamura stated, "The man admits that smoking is restricted on the streets. If he hadn't failed to pay attention, he would have realized that it was a no-smoking zone."

The man was fined after being spotted smoking on a street near JR Yokohama Station in January 2012. A sign and marker indicating that smoking was restricted in the area were located nearby. Enditem