FUKUOKA -- A woman faces charges for lending her taspo ID card needed to use cigarette vending machines to her teenage son so he could buy smokes, Fukuoka Prefectural Police said.

Police will send documents to prosecutors accusing the 41-year-old woman of breaking the Law on the Prohibition of Smoking by Minors for allegedly supplying her 15-year-old son with the taspo card in her name so he could use it to buy cigarettes from vending machines.

The woman, whose named has not been released, admits to the allegations. She is believed to be the first person to face charges in connection with an alleged offense regarding taspo, which the Tobacco Institute of Japan has introduced in staggered stages across the country this year to combat underage smoking.

"I should have been watching over him, so I really apologize deeply," said the woman, a cleaner from Fukuoka.

Police said the woman gave her apprentice painter son her taspo card on May 12 and failed to stop him smoking.

Police said the teen started smoking last year while he was still a student at junior high school. His mother initially opposed his habit and encouraged him to quit, but ended up buying him cigarettes when he refused to obey her. She took out a taspo card in her name so she would be able to buy cigarettes for her husband. The case broke when a police officer caught the boy smoking in a Fukuoka park on May 19.

The tobacco institute created taspo to fight underage smoking. Those possessing the card are required to supply a portrait photo and their private details. Taspo is an ID card that contains an IC chip where the bearer's information is stored. The card is needed to be able to buy from cigarette vending machines in most parts of the country. Fukuoka Prefecture started using the taspo system from May 1.

Copyright 2005-2006 THE MAINICHI NEWSPAPERS. All rights reserved. Mainichi features the best news in Japan, current news in Japan, Japan news in English, Japan business news, Tokyo Japan news, and Japan entertainment news. Mainichi News is syndicated in accordance with editorial regulations: personal and noncommercial purposes.

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Write comment

Name

Email

Website

Title

Comment

smaller | bigger

Subscribe via email (Registered users only)

I have read and agree to the Terms of Usage.

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment