British Museum ends ‘deeply troubling’ sponsorship from Japanese tobacco firm

Move welcomed by critics, who have been calling for end to ‘morally unacceptable’ deals since 2016

The British Museum has ended a controversial sponsorship deal with a Japanese tobacco firm after reports that the government had raised questions about the deal, which some critics said was “deeply troubling”.

The Guardian understands that the museum’s board chose to not renew the 15-year partnership with Japan Tobacco International (JTI), which ended in September.