Smokers account for less than 20 per cent of adults aged 20 and up for the first time on record, according to a government survey cited by Kyodo News.

Conducted in 2016, the survey placed the smoking rate at 19.8 per cent compared with 21.6 per cent in 2013, Kyodo said. The male smoking rate fell 5.4 percentage points to 31.1 per cent. Few women in Japan smoke. Almost 40 per cent of males in their 30s smoke, which was the highest percentage among age categories, Kyodo said.