Are Smoking Booths in Japan's Parliament a Double Standard?

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Discussions are underway ahead of a review of the revised Health Promotion Act, which made restaurants and hotels smoke-free indoors in principle. The health ministry's expert panel on secondhand smoke measures is entering the final stage of deliberations.

As the review approaches, renewed attention has focused on smoking areas inside Japan's parliament, which some critics describe as a form of "legislative privilege." Although a bipartisan group of lawmakers has called for their removal, the proposal is expected to face strong opposition from lawmakers who smoke.

On July 3, a bipartisan parliamentary league chaired by former Children's Minister Junko Mihara of the Liberal Democratic Party met at the Diet and confirmed plans to submit its recommendations to Health Minister Kenichiro Ueno before the ministry's expert panel finalizes its report.

Along with calling for tighter regulation of heated tobacco products, the proposal recommends reclassifying Diet facilities—which currently contain around 80 indoor smoking areas—as smoke-free facilities, placing them in the same category as schools and hospitals.

An Exception for the Diet?

Shigefumi Matsuzawa, secretary-general of the parliamentary league and a member of the House of Councillors from the Japan Innovation Party, said, "If we ask private-sector facilities to strengthen measures against secondhand smoke, then the Diet, which makes the laws, should lead by example. From the public's perspective, some may see these smoking areas as a privilege enjoyed by lawmakers."

*A smoking booth installed near the entrance to the Lower House chamber, June 19.*

According to the secretariats of both houses of parliament, there are 79 smoking areas inside Diet buildings and lawmakers' office buildings—51 in the House of Representatives and 28 in the House of Councillors. Additional smoking areas reserved exclusively for lawmakers are also opened during certain committee meetings, including sessions of the House of Councillors Budget Committee.

Particular attention has been drawn to two smoking booths located just outside the entrance to the House of Representatives' main chamber.

Under the revised Health Promotion Act, schools, hospitals, and government office buildings are designated as "Type 1 facilities" and are required to be completely smoke-free. Most other facilities are classified as "Type 2 facilities," where indoor smoking is generally prohibited but designated smoking rooms are permitted if certain conditions are met.

The Diet falls into the latter category and is therefore allowed to maintain indoor smoking areas. However, courts across Japan, which are also classified as Type 2 facilities, have voluntarily adopted smoke-free policies throughout their premises.

Critics from both the ruling and opposition parties have long argued that it is inconsistent for the Diet—which enacted the revised Health Promotion Act and imposed strict restrictions on secondhand smoke in schools and hospitals—to maintain more lenient rules for itself.

*Upper House member Shigefumi Matsuzawa, secretary-general of a parliamentary league promoting measures to prevent secondhand smoke.*

Calls for Lawmakers to Lead

The smoking booths near the entrance to the House of Representatives' main chamber also came under scrutiny during the COVID-19 pandemic, when lawmakers often crowded into them despite recommendations to maintain social distancing.

As a temporary measure, partitions were installed inside the booths and the number of users was restricted from February 2021 until May 2023, when COVID-19 was reclassified into the same category as seasonal influenza. The booths themselves, however, were never removed and remain in use today.

The bipartisan parliamentary league hopes to make the Diet entirely smoke-free as part of the current review of the Health Promotion Act. But Matsuzawa acknowledged the political hurdles, recalling the debate when the law was originally enacted.

"Lawmakers who smoke strongly opposed making the Diet completely smoke-free," he said. "Because there are so many smokers in parliament, the discussion always ends with people saying that is the one thing they absolutely can't accept."