PM Ishiba, Questioned About His Smoking Habit, Says He Is Down to a Few Cigarettes a Day

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:49 JST, December 17, 2024

Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who is known to be a regular smoker, replied to a suggestion that he quit the habit by saying he has been smoking less, at a session of the House of Councillors Budget Committee on Monday.

“I am trying to quit smoking. I have cut back to just a few cigarettes a day,” said Ishiba during the session. “I am very close to getting to zero.”

Ishiba was asked by Shigefumi Matsuzawa what he does to prevent harm from secondhand smoke. Matsuzawa is a member of the Japan Innovation Party who enacted the first prefectural ordinance on preventing exposure to secondhand smoke in Japan during his time as Kanagawa governor.

“I don’t smoke when there is someone else around,” replied Ishiba, who is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party’s parliamentary group on tobacco.

“Don’t you smoke at home? Your wife is nearby, isn’t she?” pressed Matsuzawa.

“I’m not allowed to do that,” said Ishiba, eliciting laughter from other lawmakers.

Ishiba also denied smoking in the Prime Minister’s Office or on government planes.