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· Japan
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Not so fast Nippon teens
Jump to full article: The Inquirer (uk), 2008-05-12
Author: Sylvie Barak
Intro: JAPANESE SCHOOL KIDS could soon be wishing they could swap their baby faces for a few wrinkles or liver spots, because a company has just come up with a new biometric vending machine to prevent minors from buying cigarettes. . . .
Last month we reported that Japan’s 'Tobacco Institute' had decided that, by July 2008, all Japanese smokers would have to carry a Taspo (tobacco passport), to prove their age. The cards would work in much the same way as a debit card, being able to offer proof of age and pay for the cigarettes at the same time.
But, says Hajime Yamamoto, spokesman for Fujitaka, with new biometric machines "the problem of minors borrowing (identification) cards to purchase cigarettes could be avoided". He also reckoned that the machine got the age right about 90 per cent of the time, which is relatively high. If the machine was unsure, the customer would be asked to insert a driving license for additional proof.
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