Japan's ruling party OKs antismoking plan with many loopholes

Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday approved in principle the government's antismoking plan after the health ministry expanded the scope of exceptions from its initial plan to basically allow continued smoking at eateries.While the ministry had sought to introduce a total indoor smoking ban in the run-up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, it gave up after staunch opposition from the LDP, whose members have strong ties with tobacco and restaurant industries.A draft bill compiled by the ministry stipulates smoking will be completely banned within the premises of h…READ FULL ARTICLE