Smokers face tighter rules as Japanese capital eyes smoke-free Olympics

A man smokes a cigarette in front of a cigarettes store displaying several packages of brands in Tokyo August 25, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan must make public places in Tokyo smoke-free by the time it hosts the 2020 Summer Olympics or risk falling afoul of International Olympic Committee (IOC) rules that call for a healthy games, activists said on Tuesday.

Japan's health minister has said the government is eager to stamp out smoking in public by the time the capital hosts the Olympics. But smoking remains so entrenched there is still a cigarette vending machine in a Health Ministry annex.