"You look 12 -- no smokes for you," said the polite vending machine, in Japanese

I've only been to Japan for a couple of hours, but from what I've heard, the Japanese are big into vending machines. Apparently, there is one vending machine for every 23 Japanese dudes. You can buy almost everything from a vending machine. Food. Water. Ipods. Underwear. Booze. And even good, old-fashioned cigarettes.
And the intelligence of the masses of vending machines is slowly rising. The latest and most greatest vending machine of them all is going to be plopping down on the streets of Tokyo soon: this machine has a face reader in it, that can judge by appearance whether you are old enough to smoke.
Using facial recognition software, the vending machine takes a snapshot of whomever is buying cigarettes, and comes up with a presumed age for the customer. If the customer looks to be younger than 20 years of age, then they will be unable to purchase cigarettes. It is unclear whether or not the machine can be fooled by like, wearing a fake mustache or something. Actually it is unclear if the vending machine will work at all -- nonetheless, they are going to be introduced soon, because of new stricter laws coming into effect that limit the sale of cancer-sticks to minors.
Mr. Yamamoto, a representative of the manufacturer of these machines -- Fujitaka Co. -- was translated as saying: "With face recognition, so long as you have got some change and you are an adult, you can buy cigarettes like before. The problem of minors borrowing [identification] cards to purchase cigarettes could be avoided as well
Japan currently has 570,000 vending machines...that just give out smokes. Isn't that crazy? More than a half-million vending machines just for the tobacco alone. Makes me worry for my Japanese friends. If the intelligence of the vending machines ever raises beyond a certain point, and they achieve sentience, it could lead to the horrible, horrible Great Vending Machine War of 2018 or something like that.

That machine wouldnt work very well to my advantage, I've been told I have the face of a 12 year-old boy.
Then the cigarettes will smoke us, and we'll all be doooooomed, dooooooooooomed.
Meh, at least they're taking more measures to prevent sales to minors...
I imagine the [tobacco] industry will take a hit there >_>
http://www.photomann.com/japan/machines/
My favorite would have to be the Rhinoceros Beetle vending machine!
For information on some rumors you might have heard about pre-owned Japanese school-girl underwear for sale in vending machines, go here:
http://everything2.com/index.pl?node=Japanese%20teenage%20girl%20underwear%20dispensing%20machines
*21 year old walks up to cigarette vending machine
*Machine scans person
*Machine speaks:
"You have been approved to purchase a carcinogen and are of age to inhale these carcinogens; thank you and please come again."
When I was in Japan, eating next to a table of smokers was a serious annoyance. ><
As for those used girls' underwear machines, well, let's just say the country still needs to work on its women's rights department (I'm not holding my breath).