Safety standards to be set for disposable lighters

The Japanese government has begun considering legislation to set safety standards for disposable lighters.

Children tampering with easy-to-use disposable lighters have suffered burns or even caused fires.

In Tokyo, there were more than 500 lighter-triggered fires caused by children 12 years or under between 1998 and 2008, and 3 children under age 5 died.

A panel of the Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry began studying safety controls on Tuesday, following last month's request from the Tokyo Metropolitan government.

The Japan Smoking Articles Corporate Association says about 600 million disposable lighters are distributed in Japan each year, but that manufactures set their own safety standards without consideration of the possibility of children tampering with the lighters.

The ministry panel plans to study existing safety controls in the United States and Europe, and consider steps such as redesigning the lighters to make them more difficult to light accidentally.

Some panel members suggested that safety controls should also target nozzle-type lighters used for barbecues, fireworks and other such cases, while others stressed the need to raise consumer awareness.