Jakarta –
Japan has strict regulations regarding smoking. Unmitigated, the Japanese government did not hesitate to take decisive steps to deter smokers.
A civil servant in Japan was fined 1.44 million yen or around Rp. 166 million for smoking in the workplace more than 4,500 times over 14 years.
The Mainichi Shimbun reported, authorities in Osaka fined the 61-year-old worker and two colleagues in the finance department, by imposing a 10 percent salary cut for six months for repeatedly smoking during working hours despite being given numerous warnings.
The three were first investigated in September 2022 after HR received information regarding their violations.
They did not heed warnings from their supervisors and even lied about not smoking during a follow-up interview in December.
Of the three, the 61-year-old director-level employee was deemed to have violated “service duties” under the Regional Public Service Act. He was asked to return 1.44 million yen of his salary, in addition to a reduction in his disciplinary fee.
The government found that he had smoked in 355 hours and 19 minutes on duty 4,512 times during his 14.5 years with the department.
Osaka has a strict smoking ban, having imposed a total ban on government buildings such as offices and public schools in 2008. Government employees have also been banned from turning on lights while on duty since 2019.
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(kna/suc)
