Health ministry abandons complete smoking ban in restaurants

Japan's health ministry on Friday abandoned its plan to completely ban smoking in restaurants as part of measures to lower cancer risks, yielding to a ruling party proposal advocating smokers' rights.The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare will still aim to fully eliminate smoking in government offices and medical institutions, its officials said, as the host country of the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics seeks to implement tighter measures to counter passive smoking.In line with the current target of the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the ministry will reduce the proportion o…READ FULL ARTICLE