Japan–China tension rises after PM’s visit to war shrine

first moves to ban smoking in certain venues. however, these were criticised as having no clear punishments or details on how such bans would be enforced and signs prohibiting smoking in restaurants and bars generally go unheeded.

The new rules mean that officials also cannot use public funds to buy cigarettes and within communist Party or government offices, tobacco products cannot be sold nor adverts displayed.

“Smoking remains a relatively universal phenomenon in public venues,” the circular said, quoted by news agency Xinhua.

“Some officials smoke in public places, which has not only jeopardised the environment and public health, but tarnished the image of party and government offices.”

The party urged its members to quit smoking and to convince others to stop while aiming to build “a good societal atmosphere of banning and controlling smoking.” officials who violate the ban are to be subject to “criticism, education, party discipline or even the law, in especially serious cases.”

anti smoking campaigners in the country welcomed the news.

“This is likely a major breakthrough. For the first time, very high-level attention and support is being given to anti-tobacco efforts,” said ray Yip, head of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s china program, which has been working on smoking cessation campaigns in the country.

china, with a population of 1.35 billion, has more than 300 million smokers. experts say huge revenues from the stateowned tobacco monopoly have hindered anti-smoking measures and believe an order banning party officials from smoking could help to reduce its influence.

Smoking, which is linked to an average annual death toll of 1.4 million people in china in recent years, is one of the greatest health threats the country faces, government statistics show. The annual number of cigarettes sold in the country increased by 50 per cent to 2.52 trillion in 2012 compared with ten years earlier, according to the chinese association on Tobacco control.

last year, the health ministry said china accounts for about 40 per cent of global production and consumption of tobacco. chIna has accused Japan’s prime minister of hypocrisy and warned that he would not be welcome in china after he visited a shrine honouring Japan’s war dead, in the latest sign of worsening ties between the two nations.

Foreign ministry spokesman qin Gang said that Japanese prime minister Shinzo abe’s visit to the Yasukuni shrine in central Tokyo had seriously hurt relations between the countries and shut the door for dialogue between their leaders.

“abe’s hypocrisy in his claims of prioritising relations with china and hopes for dialogue with the chinese leaders has been fully revealed,” Mr qin said at a briefing.

“The chinese people do not welcome him. now, abe needs to admit his mistakes to the government and people of china, cut loose from the past and make a new start,” he said.

Mr abe’s war shrine visit and china’s reaction escalated tensions already running high over a festering territorial dispute.

relations sank to a new low recently after china announced an air defence identification zone that covers a string of uninhabited east china Sea islands controlled by Japan but also claimed by china.

Tokyo has repeatedly called for dialogue to resolve the islands dispute. BahraInI officials seized stocks of weapons, including some being smuggled in by sea, and defused a car bomb during two days of security raids in the restless Gulf nation.

authorities also announced the capture of a speedboat allegedly smuggling out 13 people, including one Saudi, wanted in connection with security cases in Bahrain.