TASPO

Japanese vending machines sell quite a lot of things. More than coke. Really.

So, you can buy beer or cigarette at any time no matter how young you are. When some big leaguers came to Japan in 2006 for the exhibition game, they all surprised seeing the beer machine, but said, "Maybe, Japanese kids are well-educated and they don't go buy those things."

Hmmm, we wish we could be that well. Nope, unfortunately.

And so, from now on, adults have to obtain the ID card called TASPO. Smokers have to apply for the age verified card by filling out the info like your DOB or address. This service started in March from several cities and gradually progressed nationwide. Tokyo are may be set in July, the last month of the service period.

http://www.taspo.jp/english/index.html

Japan still has a better smoker-friendly circumstance than the US. And I thought that was, in a way, a good thing, because it's all up to our moral control.

I hope Japanese kids will grow up just as the big leaguers think.