Considering the extremely toxic work/life balance most large Japanese companies pressure their employees to conform to and the compounded health effects of stress(i.e lack of time off) and smoking, I find this perplexing.

A way to punish slackers + moral stance? Why not! In other news, tobacco consumption varies from person to person and stepping away from your desk 15 minutes at a time should not be abnormal.

Yeah, it seems like the real problem here is that employees are required to have an excuse to take a short unscheduled break from work.

That a society decided that "I need a cigarette" is a valid excuse for this is secondary.

It seems more of a reward for non smokers. Unless it means the smokers will have to pick up the slack from those having holidays.

"Additionally, the Japanese government holds a stake in Japan Tobacco, the multinational tobacco giant, which critics say compromises its smoking policy."

I did not know this, but suddenly Japan's curious relationship with cigarettes make a lot more sense.

Ongoing discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15609494

Now let's see if they actually take them. Don't Japanese workers in general never use up anywhere near to their allotted vacation?