[altair]

Cigarettes are about the only reasonably priced items in Japan. Premium (imported) brands sell for 280 yen ($2.39) and domestic brands sell for 250 yen ($2.13). In comparison, a six pack of beer costs ~1100 yen and a can of Coca Cola costs 120 yen.

[altair]

It's happening world wide SheLion. The worst part about this one is, foreigners can't vote ...

[johnboy]

utter rubbish. if the tax on cigarettes rose to 1,000 yen, the mikuza (sp?) would take over the importation and distribution thereof.

[KS Flyover]

".... a tax bringing the price of cigarettes up to 1,000 yen a pack would also add 1 trillion yen to state coffers."

But that is just an unintended byproduct of the government raising cigarette taxes to save people from themselves. </SARCASM>

Click For Puff_List

[Great Dane]

Their government too needs money real bad.

[jdontom]

Tobacco tax revenues would fall slightly from the current level of about 2.3 trillion yen if cigarettes cost 300 yen a pack, but at 500 yen a pack the receipts would grow by 400 billion yen, and soar by more than 1 trillion yen at 1,000 yen a pack, the report says.

Here we go again, these brain dead politicos thank that if you just keep raising the price of something you will automaticly double your money!!Next they will raise it to 2000 yen a pack.

Hope they don't count their rice before the harvest...