Lighting up to get tougher in Japan

Japan may tighten rules on smoking in public facilities, a health official said, but he denied a report that Japan could announce plans to ban smoking in public facilities as soon as next month.

Public broadcaster NHK said a ban could be announced for hospitals, government offices and public transport, where smokers can currently be provided with separate rooms to light up.

Shares in Japan Tobacco, the country's largest cigarette maker and majority owned by the government, sank 3.8 percent after the NHK report, before recovering.