“Passive smoking, also, may be more dangerous than previously thought, raising the risk of heart disease among non-smokers by as much as 60 percent, according to a recent study published in the British Medical Journal.”

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IPS -- Inter press service

TOKYO - After years of suffering silently, Koichi Yasui, a 70-year-old taxi driver, has decided to seek reprieve from the courts. He suffers from pulmonary emphysema, a smoking related disease, and plans to sue the Japanese government for making him sick as a result of its active support for the tobacco industry.

“Its going to be an uphill struggle,” says Yasui referring to past brave attempts by anti-smoking campaigners in Japan who have tried hard but not been able to win a single lawsuit against the government or Japan’s powerful cigarette conglomerate that is 66 percent owned by the finance ministry.

Yasui, along with another driver and two taxi passengers will file a lawsuit early this month, in the Tokyo courts, against Japan’s Public Highways Corp and the health and welfare ministry.

They are seeking 100,000 U.S. dollars each as compensation from both bodies for neglecting to protect their health by not taking steps to stop smoking in the work place and control the sale of cigarettes.

And Yasui has every reason to be bitter.

He has always been a non-smoker and says his current illness is due to the risks of passive smoking. He blames the government for failing to enact measures to force business such as restaurants and taxicabs to out rightly ban smoking.

Passive smoking, also, may be more dangerous than previously thought, raising the risk of heart disease among non-smokers by as much as 60 percent, according to a recent study published in the British Medical Journal.

The Health Promotion Law, which stipulates measures to prevent damage from secondary smoke, was enacted in May last year, leading to the introduction of anti-smoking steps in public transportation systems, public facilities, hospitals and schools.

But anti-smoking measures in the restaurant and taxi industries are few and far between.

As the new law only instructs businesses to voluntarily make “a sincere effort” to cut smoking, companies fear that the more faithfully they abide by the law, the more customers they will lose. Many in business circles say it would be easier for them to take anti-smoking measures if the law forced them to do so.

“My lawsuit is on behalf of the 500,000 taxi drivers and passengers who daily face the risks of passive smoking because nothing can be done to force people to stop smoking in the taxi cabs,” Yasui told IPS.

Yasui’s case, according to activists, has significance in the long drawn-out struggle to make Japan smoke-free.

The rate of Japanese men who smoke, at 48 percent, is one of the highest in the developed countries.

“Japan is referred as a smokers paradise and there are reasons for it,” lawyer Yoshio Isayama pointed out.

“Apart from lax laws for cigarette manufacturers, we face the astounding situation of where the people must file suits against the government to ban smoking,” Isayama told IPS.

“In other countries, governments act against tobacco companies on behalf of the people,” he said.

Ironically, the Japanese government holds a large stake in Japan Tobacco Inc - the third largest cigarette manufacturer and seller in the world. The company is known for its Camel, Winston and Mild Seven brands.

The Japanese government gets about 20 billion U.S. dollars annually from tobacco sales.

Other countries have pointed out two main reasons why anti- smoking measures have not worked in Japan.

Firstly, tobacco is comparatively cheap in this country, and the other is that there are few regulations governing the operation of tobacco vending machines.

Kenichiro Higano, a member of the Tobacco Problems Center, one of Japan`s leading activist groups, said an important deterrent to prevent teenagers from buying cigarettes is to pass laws to close more than 650,000 wending machines that sell cigarettes across the country.

“When it comes to slapping the hands of businesses, the government draws the line. This is the biggest problem,” he told IPS.

But despite the gloomy picture, there still seems to be some hope.

Two years ago the Chiyoda-ward, in central Tokyo, took the first step to pass an ordinance that could fine violators as much as 200 U.S. dollars if they smoked in designated anti-smoking areas as stipulated in the Health Promotion Law.

Yet another major landmark is a ban on smoking in schools that has been extended even to outside playgrounds.

Some universities have even begun to ask students to sign a pledge promising not light up even while they are not in the college premises.

“Public awareness on the health risks from smoking is spreading. New surveys that link smoking to diseases such as cancer and pneumonia have helped turn the tide,” said Hideaki Suzuki, a medical doctor who has launched a programme to make children and their parents aware of the dangers of smoking.

Suzuki, however, feels optimistic.

“The recent moves by the government to support anti-smoking moves is positive,” he told IPS.

“This is a key departure from previous campaigns where the focus was on politely asking smokers to respect the wishes of non-smokers by handing out ashtrays or designating smoking areas,” he pointed out.

But there is international pressure for Japan to take more aggressive measures to reduce tobacco consumption in line with an international tobacco treaty it signed in March and ratified last month.

On Jun. 8, Japan became the 21st country to ratify the U.N. Framework Convention on Tobacco Control which lists steps countries should take to cut smoking.

“The government decided to sign the treaty to keep up with global trends as well as to protect the health of the public,” explained Akiko Hosokawa, the official in charge of anti-smoking at the ministry of health.

New surveys by the ministry, released in April, indicate that each year smoking causes an estimated 80,000 Japanese men and 8,000 women to develop cancer. About 20 percent of all cancer cases in Japan are smoking-related.