Smoking in Japan is practiced by around 20,000,000 people, and the nation is one of the world's largest tobacco markets, though tobacco use has been declining in recent years. As of 2019, the Japanese adult smoking rate was 16.7%. By gender, 27.1% of men and 7.6% of women consumed a tobacco product at least once a month. This is the lowest recorded figure since the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare or Japan Tobacco began surveying in 1965. Per capita consumption in 2016 was 1,583 cigarettes, roughly 45% of the peak consumption of 3,497 in 1977. History Until 1985, the tobacco industry was a government-run monopoly; the government of Japan is still involved in the industry through the Ministry of Finance, which after a sell-off in March 2013, now owns only one-third of Japan Tobacco's outstanding stock, and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, which is active in public health and other tobacco control policymaking. The Ministry of Finance as well as many MPs of Diet of Japan have interests in the tobacco industry and thus tobacco control legislation is lenient, according to the anti-smoking lobby. Smoking age Since 1876, the smoking age in Japan has been 20. Although the age of majority was lowered from 20 to 18 in 2022, the smoking age will remain at 20. Pricing The price of a particular brand of cigarettes in Japan is set by manufacturers and approved by the Ministry of Finance. A particular brand of cigarettes costs the same across all vendors, from cigarette machines to big supermarkets to corner shops and bulk purchases are not discounted. As of August 2020, the price of a typical pack of cigarettes ranged from ¥400 to ¥530. Proposed tobacco tax hike in October 2020 will increase the price range to ¥450 to ¥570 for typical brands. Smoking bans Unlike in many countries, Japan traditionally had outdoor smoking regulations with more lenient indoor smoking regulations. Outdoor smoking is frowned upon on public streets and local governments typically have bylaws banning smoking on busy public streets. Except for the fire codes, indoor smoking for private businesses was unregulated until 2019. The general consensus was that the local governments have jurisdiction over smoking in public outdoor spaces, but not within private properties including commercial spaces where businesses are conducted. In June 2018, the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly approved indoor smoking regulations targeting commercial spaces in Tokyo and