Political bickering hampers Japan's efforts to address passive smoking

Planned legislation to address passive smoking by banning lighting up in restaurants is in limbo following strife between the health ministry and the ruling party.After a failed attempt to submit a bill to parliament during the latest session, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry hopes to bring one before an extra session likely to convene in fall.But despite health experts pointing out that Japan, which is to host the Olympic and Paralympic games in Tokyo in three years' time, lags behind many other countries in measures against passive smoking, prospects for a compromise are dim."We wer…READ FULL ARTICLE