Genri Goto, CEO and founder of online drugstore Kenko.com, senses victory after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced in his growth strategy earlier this month that the government would relax rules for online sales of nonprescription drugs.
Four years ago, Kenko.com sued the health and labor ministry over an ordinance banning the sales of over-the-counter drugs online. His saga appeared to be over when the Supreme Court ruled in January that the ordinance was excessive and illegal. But despite the ruling, a loophole has allowed the restriction to remain in place.
"What's harder to scrap are regulations designed to benefit a particular party, (such as) vested interests with long and deep ties to politicians and bureaucrats," Goto said.
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