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August 15, 2024
 

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PHARMACEUTICALS

A tourist shops at a drug store in the Asakusa district of Tokyo on April 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 22, 2024
Japan panel sets out plans to accelerate drug discovery efforts
Ideas include calling in help from well-established firms overseas and having them work with "accelerators" to nurture local talent into "star scientists."
Some 2,181 morning-after pills were sold at 145 pharmacies across the nation, with Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture recording over 200 sales each.
JAPAN / Science & Health
May 20, 2024
Morning-after pill buyers back prescription-free sales following trial
Some 27% of purchases were made on Saturdays and Sundays, when many clinics are closed.
Ryo Wakabayashi, a distal myopathy patient, lives alone in the city of Fukushima.
JAPAN / Science & Health / Regional Voices: Tohoku
May 20, 2024
Persistence pays off with approval of distal myopathy drug
The disease is estimated to affect only 300 to 400 people in Japan.
Pending the offer’s success, I’rom Group will be delisted and Blackstone will own 55% of the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2024
Blackstone to take Japan drug trial firm private in management buyout
A tender offer will be made to acquire I’rom Group shares at ¥2,800 per share — a roughly 50% premium to Monday’s closing price of ¥1,873.
A pack of dietary supplements designated by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical as a functional food.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 30, 2024
Japan panel reviewing 'functional foods' label system
The system has been criticized for leaving it entirely up to functional food makers to guarantee the safety of their products.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's factory in the city of Osaka on March 30.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 26, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma to cover bills of people who got ill after taking supplements
The Osaka company’s board has also set up a third-party panel to probe the company’s handling of the issue.
Tests for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease. According to the Alzheimer's Association, the disease is estimated to affect more than 6 million Americans.
WORLD / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 24, 2024
Alzheimer's drug adoption in U.S. slowed by doctors' skepticism
There is an entrenched belief among some doctors that treating the memory-robbing disease is futile.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Tokyo office. The company has received 88,000 inquiries about health damage from its supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 20, 2024
More unexpected compounds found in Kobayashi Pharma's beni kōji supplements
At least two compounds not normally found in the supplements were detected in an analysis of ingredient samples.
Mike Gallagher, the Republican chair of the bipartisan select committee, said that China's incentives suggest Beijing wants more fentanyl entering the U.S.
WORLD
Apr 17, 2024
U.S. committee finds China is subsidizing American fentanyl crisis
China denies the allegation, and says the U.S. government must do more to reduce domestic demand.
A survey of the 6,975 products with the functional food label was initiated by the government last month following the scandal over Kobayashi Pharmaceuticals’ beni kōji supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 12, 2024
Probe finds 18 functional food products with past reports of health damage in Japan
The survey results come as the industry reels from deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni kōji supplements.
Health experts say the beni kōji supplement scandal should not be treated as a one-off incident. Instead, it should be seen as a cautionary tale about how such health food items could pose more risks than benefits.
JAPAN / Science & Health / FOCUS
Apr 12, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma’s slow response to scandal spotlights deeper issues
Health experts say the scandal should be seen as a cautionary tale, and not a one-off incident.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Osaka
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 11, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma troubles reverberate in Taiwan as firm assists with recall
Taiwan is the only place outside of Japan to have seen reports of people falling ill after consuming the company's beni kōji.
Health ministry officials head to a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical factory in the city of Osaka on March 30 to conduct a search of the premises.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 9, 2024
Kidney doctors report 95 health complaints linked to beni kōji pills
So far, five people have died, 212 people have been hospitalized and 1,224 others have sought medical treatment after taking the supplements.
A building in Osaka's Chuo Ward housing the Kobayashi Pharmaceutical headquarters
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 7, 2024
Government holds hearings at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical on supplements
Of those who took the supplements, five people have died and 196 people have been hospitalized so far.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Tokyo office. An investigation into the cause of the health issues is underway, with partner companies attempting to recall products that could include the batch of beni kōji said to have caused kidney problems.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 4, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma's wide supply chain complicates search for tainted products
Looking at the overall market, one study showed that around 33,000 companies have sold and distributed products using the firm's red yeast rice.
Health ministry officials enter Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Osaka plant on Saturday for inspection.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 4, 2024
Cause of Kobayashi Pharma health scare still unclear as probe continues
A natural compound derived from blue mold has been detected in the firm's beni kо̄ji supplements, but the substance's health impacts are still unclear.
An official of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical speaks to reporters on Saturday in Osaka following the health ministry's inspections of the firm's plant.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 3, 2024
166 hospitalized over health issues linked to beni kōji
Taiwan's health ministry said the number of people experiencing ill health after taking Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's beni koji had risen to 11 as of Monday.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's Tokyo office. The company reported more cases of hospitalization linked to its dietary supplements.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 2, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma's health supplements tied to 157 hospitalizations
The figure reflects an increase from the 114 hospitalization cases that the company said were linked to its products containing red yeast rice.
Beni kо̄ji has been widely used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine, particularly in a dish called tо̄fuyо̄.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 1, 2024
Beni kōji purveyors fear growing aversion following supplement scandal
The ingredient has long been used in Japan and elsewhere as a food additive, and features prominently in Okinawan cuisine.
Officials from the health ministry arrive at Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's plant in Kinokawa, Wakayama Prefecture, on Sunday for inspection.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 31, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma plants inspected over health problems
The company said five people have died after taking the supplement so far, with the total number of hospitalized users reaching 114.
Japan to revise consumption tax exemption for overseas tourists
Tourists walk through Nakamise shopping street near Sensoji Temple in Tokyo in April
Japan's tourism industry hit by cancellations after megaquake alert
A beach closed due to a megaquake alert in Hiratsuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, from Friday to Thursday.
Focus shifts to incoming typhoon as Tropical Storm Maria dissipates
Newly formed Tropical Storm Ampil, which is forecast to approach eastern Japan this weekend, is seen on the left side of this satellite image.
Kishida to step down in September in bid to show ‘LDP has changed’
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida speaks during a news conference Wednesday at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo.
Publisher finds surprise audience after translating history textbooks
Yamakawa Shuppansha president Takeshi Nozawa holds the publisher's textbook on Japanese history — used in high schools across Japan — alongside the new English version in Tokyo on May 23.
Economic security is about strengthening and sustaining growth, former minister says
Former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi says changes in the international balance of power, along with deepening economic interdependence, have led some countries to attempt to use their economic power to impose their will on others.
Ice bandanas, convenience store breaks: Running under Japan’s summer sun
Blistering heat is becoming a fixture of summer in Japan, but a few tweaks to your routine can make your outdoor runs bearable — if not enjoyable — until cooler temperatures return.
Japan issued its first-ever megaquake alert. What does that mean?
Naoshi Hirata (center), chairman of a committee tasked with evaluating the risk of a Nankai Trough earthquake, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
France brings down the curtain on its Olympic party with Tom Cruise and Leon Marchand
Fireworks are set off during the closing ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics at Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Sunday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Sociologist Gracia Liu-Farrer argues that even though immigration doesn't figure into Japan's autobiography, it is more of a self-perception than a reality.
In search of the ‘Japanese dream’
By Thu-Huong Ha

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

mission sustainability vol.8: Omron Corp.Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality
mission sustainability vol.8: Omron Corp.Omron helping firms achieve carbon neutrality

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