The Taspo IC card that proves adulthood when purchasing cigarettes from vending machines will be eliminated at the end of March 2026.
The move is prompted by the scheduled termination of NTT Docomo's 3G communications network, FOMA, which is used to read the information registered on the card.
Taspo is being used less as an increasing number of smokers buy cigarettes at convenience stores.
The Tobacco Institute of Japan and the national federation of tobacco sales cooperatives announced the elimination of the service this month.
Taspo was introduced in 2008 to prevent minors from easily purchasing cigarettes from vending machines. About 10 million cards have been issued as of the end of last year.
However, some smokers have not embraced the card because the application process requires a facial photo and ID.
In recent years, an increasing number of convenience stores stock tobacco products behind the cash register and sell them after confirming a customer's age.
The number of cigarette vending machines plummeted from about 500,000 at the time Taspo was introduced to approximately 128,000 at the end of 2020
After the service ends, cigarette vending machines will need to be equipped with a device that can read a driver's license or other apparatus green-lighted by the Finance Ministry that proves adulthood.
Whether such devices will be installed is unclear as doing so is an additional burden for the seller.
According to the Tobacco Institute of Japan, the number of cigarettes sold nationwide decreased from 245.8 billion in fiscal 2008 to 98.8 billion in fiscal 2020.
Growing health consciousness and successive increases in tobacco taxes have had a negative impact on sales. The price of a pack of Japan Tobacco Inc.'s Mevius (formerly known as Mild Seven) has nearly doubled from 300 yen when Taspo was introduced to 580 yen now.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
