Peace Can (50)

ピース（50本入） is the 10-pack’s tobacco in a can: ja.wikipedia states plainly that the two are the same cigarette, differing only in packaging. The can is nicknamed 缶ピース, and because the pack is dark navy there is a folk etymology that ties its colour to the Japanese word for a clear blue sky — ピーカン. The word is older than Peace and the derivation is folkloric, so it is one of those explanations that is repeated because it is good rather than because it is true.

Launched July 1949. Until the 2010 price revision a Peace 50 stick cost more than a Peace 10 stick; the can now works out cheaper per stick.

The container is the interesting part. The body is tinplate with a thin steel top sealed by a metal tab that you punch inward; since 2007 that has been an aluminium pull-tab inner lid instead of a steel one, which made it easier to open and stopped it leaving aluminium shards in the cigarettes. Its external dimensions mean it will not fit in a Japanese vending machine at all. Air-tight enough that enthusiasts argue the can preserves flavour better than the paper box — there is a 缶ピース党, the “can party”, as a result.

What the numbers say

Spec	Value
Tobacco type	Flue-cured (Virginia, 黄色種) 100%
Tar	28 mg
Nicotine	2.3 mg
Carbon monoxide	not published
Length	70 mm
Format	Unfiltered both ends (両切り), tinplate can
Packs per carton	not published
Pack price	¥1,500 JPY

Same yield as the 10-pack at fifty times the quantity, and the only Peace sold in metal. The can’s shape excludes it from vending machines, which is part of why it survives as a counter-culture choice rather than a convenience purchase.

Rating

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Sources

• Tar, nicotine, count, price, release dates — JT Peace family
• Blend, format, nicknames, withdrawal dates, brand history — Japanese Wikipedia: ピース (たばこ)