JAPAN: In a significant move to promote healthier travel experiences and adapt to changing societal norms, the operators of Japan’s renowned Tokaido, Sanyo, and Kyushu Shinkansen lines have decided to eliminate smoking rooms on all their bullet trains. This transformation will render all bullet trains across the country smoke-free from the spring of 2024.
Currently, the flagship N700-series trains servicing these three lines are equipped with smoking rooms, with three on the 16-car versions and two on the 8-car versions. These rooms are designed to maintain air quality with ventilation and deodorization systems.
The three major operators, Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai), West Japan Railway Co. (JR West), and Kyushu Railway Co. (JR Kyushu), justified their decision by citing a growing trend toward health-consciousness and the declining number of smokers in contemporary society.
Once the smoking rooms are removed, the reclaimed spaces will be repurposed to store drinking water and other essential emergency items, ensuring passenger safety during unforeseen disasters. JR West, which services the Sanyo Shinkansen Line, also plans to abolish smoking rooms on its 500-series bullet trains and eliminate smoking areas without separating walls at various stations, including Shin-Kurashiki, Mihara, and six other locations.
This change follows the elimination of smoking seats on bullet trains servicing the Tohoku, Joetsu, Akita, and Yamagata Shinkansen lines back in 2007. The Hokuriku, Hokkaido, and Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen lines have never allowed smoking since their inception. The transition to a smoke-free environment comes as Central Japan Railway Co. and West Japan Railway Co. once fiercely competed with airlines by providing designated smoking rooms on Tokaido and Sanyo bullet trains to accommodate the preferences of both smokers and non-smokers. JR Kyushu followed suit, as its trains connect to the Kyushu Shinkansen Line.
