*cough coughhhh*
I don't like it when people smoke close to me. I'm all for freedom, and liberty, and all that shit, but when I'm in a crowded space, and someone lights up a cigarette and forces cancer down my throat, I get touchy.
If someone smokes at home, whatever. If someone smokes in a restaurant in the smoking section, ok cool. If someone smokes at a club, sure, it's a club. However when you're in a crowd, and as Tokyo-ites will atest to, you're in a crowd most of the time in Tokyo, I think it's unbeliavably rude to light up a cigarette. People who don't like smoke, or have a medical aversion to smoke have no escape, and it causes all sorts of tension and stress for the inhalee.
To combat this social issue, the Japanese government is pushing "manner smoking". I'm sure many Japanese dont even recognise that smoking right beside other people is a problem, to the dismay and trouble of foreigners(and other Japanese) who live in close quarters with our smoker counterparts in the claustrophobic metropolis of Tokyo.
In fact, this used to be such a problem at Hachikou, Japan's most famous meeting place, that they have installed a large "Smoke Area" to the left-hand side. This Smoke Area draws all of the smokers away from the crowded area, and gives them ash trays, and various "Manner Smoking" messages, such as : "Your cigarette burns at 400 degrees celsius, and it's held at the height of a child's face", and my personal favourite, "I wouldn't suffocate a person with my natural gas on purpose, why would I do the same with cigarette smoke?".
These measures have improved the situation, but smoking culture still flourishes. Of particular interest is a shop called "Smoke Zone", where thousands of people go to smoke. It's like a coffee bar, but instead of a nice cup of coffee, you smoke a cigarette. I'm convinced this would fail in any other country except Japan. However, it keeps the smokers off the street, and the smoke out of my lungs.
I have a mild form of Asthma, which means that the tubes in my lungs occasionally react to smells and wheeze up, making it very difficult for me to breath. It just so happens that smoke causes this condition. It's great to see that Japan is slowly becoming more conscious of these social issues, and making positive steps to improve the situation.
Ganbare Nippon !! *cough cough*