Photo/Illutration An artist’s rendition of the panel partition to be installed in Sapporo's Odori Park (Provided by the Sapporo city government)

SAPPORO--A dispute over smoking is threatening to erupt in a fireball if Sapporo city authorities go ahead with plans to allow people to puff away in popular downtown Odori Park from December.

The Japan Society for Tobacco Control is up in arms over the move.

A lack of designated smoking areas in buildings surrounding the park has resulted in a noticeable uptick in smoking within the park, especially during lunchtime.

The city wants to find out if the experiment will improve the overall environment of the iconic tourist spot, but the society contends it will only increase opportunities for secondhand smoking.

It is calling for an all-out ban on smoking within the park in the future.

The society presented its opinion at a news conference it held in Sapporo on Nov. 17.

Sections from Nishi 1-chome to Nishi 4-chome of Odori Park that spans east to west for 1.5 kilometers are regulated by city ordinances to prohibit smoking while walking as well as smoking without ashtrays.

However, the Nishi 3-chome section has smoking areas with roofs and doors. Sections from Nishi 5-chome to Nishi 12-chome are not designated as restricted areas, which has generated complaints about secondhand smoking and the need for prevention measures.

On Nov. 2, the city began considering environmental improvements for the park, which was last renovated in 1989. As part of this process and working with the cooperation of the Japan Tobacco Inc., it plans to install panel-partition type smoking areas with ashtrays in the Nishi 5-chome section of the park from early December until the end of March 2025.

“The newly installed smoking areas are merely enclosed by partitions, allowing cigarette smoke to leak freely,” said Michiyuki Matsuzaki, the head of the Hokkaido branch of the Japan Society for Tobacco Control, at a news conference held at Sapporo City Hall. “This violates the Health Promotion Law, which seeks to protect children from the harm of outdoor secondhand smoking.”

Kiyoshi Nagase, a former chairman of the Hokkaido Medical Association, noted that “the higher incidence of lung cancer among women in Hokkaido compared to the national average is partly due to smoking,” in calling for awareness campaigns to stamp out smoking.

The city issued its Declaration to Prevent Secondhand Smoke in Sapporo in 2020, encouraging residents to consider the issue even in areas not regulated by the Health Promotion Law and other laws. However, the smoking rate in the city in fiscal 2022 was 18.2 percent. Moreover, the smoking rates for both men and women surpassed the national averages.

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