Smoking Curbed in Tokyo Subway Stations

Japanese authorities Friday banned smoking in nearly all of Tokyo’s subway stations. The ban covers 114 of the 127 stations on the city’s seven privately owned underground rail lines and all 64 stations on three lines owned by the Tokyo government. The only stations not covered by the ban are open-air stops.

Tokyo officials had planned to phase out smoking in the stations before the London subway fire in November that killed 34 people. The British disaster speeded their action.