Japan's Passive-Smoking Prevention Subsidy (2026): Who Qualifies, How Much, and the Process
Table of contents
Who qualifies, and what counts as an eligible measure
The FY Reiwa 8 guidance limits eligible measures to existing specified food and drink provision facilities. Two measures qualify: installing or renovating a sealed smoking room, where use for anything other than smoking is not permitted; and installing or renovating a heated-tobacco-only smoking room, where other use is permitted. Both must meet the same technical standards: air velocity of at least 0.2 metres per second at the entrance, partitioning by walls, ceilings and so on so that smoke does not flow from the room to outside it, and exhaust of the smoke to the outdoors or an external location. On the SME size test, the thresholds are 50 employees or 50 million yen in capital for retail (including restaurants and food delivery services), 100 employees or 50 million yen for services, 100 employees or 100 million yen for wholesale, and 300 employees or 300 million yen for other industries — meeting either the headcount or the capital condition is enough (source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001738448.pdf).
Choosing between a sealed smoking room and a heated-tobacco-only room is an operational decision as much as a construction one, because food and drink are allowed in the latter and not the former. For the wider framework — including smoking-permitted rooms and smoking-purpose rooms — see our Health Promotion Act explainer.
The order of steps that catches people out
- Work must not start until the grant decision notice has been received — as a rule, contracts with and payments to the contractor also come after that point
- Applications go to the health division of the Labour Standards Department at the competent prefectural labour bureau, in duplicate; review is stated as taking one month in principle
- Quotations from at least two contractors are required, and pre-work photographs must have been taken within three months of the application date
- Payment by instalments, payment by a parent company, and payment via a lease contract are stated as not eligible for the subsidy
- A grant is made per worksite and once only per worksite; a worksite that has previously received it cannot apply again
- Electronic filing is accepted in addition to submitting documents to the labour bureau, and an annual implementation report is required afterwards
The guidance also notes that the subsidy falls under the Act on Regulation of Execution of Budget Pertaining to Subsidies, that receiving it through false or other wrongful means, or breaching the terms of the grant decision, may lead to a demand for repayment and to imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to 1 million yen, and that disposing of subsidised property within five years of the end of the fiscal year in which the subsidy was received generally requires prior approval (source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001738448.pdf).
Other support, and the limits of this summary
MHLW's workplace guideline points employers to the health affairs division of the Labour Standards Department at the prefectural labour bureau for subsidy matters, and to MHLW's website for the current contact point for technical consultations and for the free loan of equipment measuring tobacco smoke concentration (source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/000524718.pdf). MHLW's passive-smoking site also names a tax measure — the SME business enhancement tax system — and refers readers to the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency (https://www.chusho.meti.go.jp/keiei/kyoka/index.html) for details (source: https://jyudokitsuen.mhlw.go.jp/support/). Because tax terms change by fiscal year, no figures for that measure are given here; confirm with the agency and a tax professional. For where to take a workplace passive-smoking concern more generally, see where to raise workplace passive smoking. If your premises will have no indoor smoking area, being able to point customers to a nearby designated spot on the MottoSuitai map reduces the separate problem of smoking outside your entrance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q.Are applications open for FY Reiwa 8 (2026)?
A.MHLW's page states that FY Reiwa 8 applications have opened and that the deadline is 31 January Reiwa 9, while also noting that applications are expected to close earlier if the requested amount reaches the budget (checked 18 August 2026; source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/0000049868.html). Always confirm the current position on the official page.
Q.How much can be received?
A.The FY Reiwa 8 guidance gives a rate of two-thirds where the main industrial classification is food service and one-half otherwise, with a cap of 1 million yen. Eligible cost is separately capped at 600,000 yen per square metre of the smoking room (source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001738448.pdf).
Q.Does it cover businesses other than restaurants?
A.The FY Reiwa 8 guidance states that eligible measures are limited to existing specified food and drink provision facilities — restaurants already in existence as of 1 April 2020, with capital of 50 million yen or less and a seating area of 100 m² or less. Check your own eligibility with the competent prefectural labour bureau (source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001738448.pdf).
Q.When can construction start?
A.After the grant decision notice is received. The guidance states that work should begin only after receiving it, and that contracts and payments to the contractor should as a rule also follow it; a separate application form covers cases where contracts or payments are made before the grant decision (source: https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/001738448.pdf).