OSAKA -- The city of Osaka will introduce a city-wide street smoking ban on Jan. 27, 2025, ahead of the World Expo scheduled to kick off that April, Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama announced during the municipal assembly's special audit committee meeting on Nov. 12.

The Osaka Municipal Government established a no street smoking ordinance in 2007, making six areas, including the vicinity of JR Osaka Station and the busy Ebisubashi- and Shinsaibashi-suji tourist destinations, smoke free. The city imposes a 1,000-yen (about $6.50) fine for violations. In March this year, the municipal assembly passed a revised ordinance to expand the no-smoking areas to the entire city.

The municipal government expects to secure more than 140 smoking stations by the time the revised ordinance takes effect, including by building new ones and renovating the existing stations.

Mayor Yokoyama also indicated at the Nov. 12 meeting that the number of smoking stations is expected to increase to around 300 by the time of the expo's opening. He stated, "We will strengthen awareness and guidance systems while actively sharing relevant information to promote improvement of the environment suitable for an international tourist city."

(Japanese original by Takuya Suzuki, Osaka City News Department)