Olympics: Tokyo 2020 venues to be 100 percent smoke-free - organisers

FILE PHOTO: A shadow of of Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike is seen on the logo of Tokyo 2020 Olympic games during the Olympic and Paralympic flag-raising ceremony at Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building in Tokyo, Japan, September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

TOKYO (Reuters) - All the venues for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be 100 percent smoke-free, the organisers said on Thursday.

The ruling is part of dramatic changes taking place in Japan, which lags many countries in efforts to fight smoking, with attempts to tackle tobacco often stymied by pro-smoking politicians, restaurateurs and Japan Tobacco, which is one-third owned by the government.