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Japan may get regional smoking ban: official 

Japan, long seen as a smokers' haven, could soon have a ban on lighting up in bars, restaurants and other public places in the country's second largest prefecture, an official said Wednesday.

The proposed ban in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo would also apply to amusement venues, schools, hospitals and department stores in the region, home to Japan's second-largest city, Yokohama.

The prohibition would be the first of its kind in Japan, which is slowly becoming less tolerant of smoking in public. Offenders may be fined.

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