Honestly, I don't remember. Last time I was in Japan was almost four years ago, and I was there for only two weeks, and you can bet I wasn't paying attention quite as much attention to product pricing as to certain other amazing things.
This thread is rather interesting, but it's very complex to debate because it deals with a very delicate topic that has many branches to it, which is obesity. I cannot comment much on american's laws or political system as I am not familiar at all with the way things are run there (or in all the first world for that matter) but concerning obesity, is that the problem cannot be attacked from only one side (being the soda-size regulation in this case), let alone be erradicated, because there are many things that can cause it, this is just the tip of the iceberg and getting to a solution is just as difficult and complex as changing a whole country's culture. I have to agree at some points with both sides, goverments shouldn't intend to control or dictate what the population can consume or not, but I have to admit sometimes you have to draw a line, it's like an intervention, you see someone close to you has a problem and is hurting him/herself, there is a point where eventually you feel you have to confront them and try to make them reconsider. Obesity rates and health issues derived from it have risen enough to gain government's (and even the world's) attention, and something needs to be done to treat it. Sure, people know the risks, but still choose to ignore them, I cannot refer to any of you as careless people who just swallow all this junk food and drink gallons of sugar drinks and not care, you do know your limits I'm sure of it, but believe me, there are tons of people who really need help, who eat compulsively and carelessly without being aware of the consequences of their actions (as crazy as that might sound, it's true). Kids get fat for eating too much junk food, true, but it's not their own decision, it's their parents who let them and don't set an example for them, totally the opposite as they spoil them or eat unhealthily as well. Regulating the size of soda drinks is a baby step, a very tiny one, and unless that step is followed by other logical (but not invasive) regulations, numbers could start decreasing, I may be being very optimistical (and a bit unrealistic) here, but I believe in that. People, unconsciously, have created a habit, a very unhealthy one and this doesn't necessarily apply to food issues but in many aspects of society. A new habit has to be created, but that will only occur with a massive dose of commitment from the people as well as full endoserment from governments, which is something very difficult to achieve at this point. Although I'd like to think that size regulations in sugar drinks will help raise awareness and make people think twice about the quantity they're buying, they will most likely not and the law will render useless since there won't be commitment for a long time and people will forget about it. So bottom line of my post, I do think that something needs to be done to raise awareness (if that's the goal they're trying to make) but it's gonna take a lot more than just regulating the size of sugar drinks. Also, there is a difference between freedom and licentiousness, we want the first, not the latter.
This thread pretty much shows how so many of us don't know what we're putting into our bodies. Seriously, some of these posts make me laugh. No wonder why there has to be a ban on super-sized soft drinks.