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April 03, 2025
 

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PHARMACEUTICALS

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.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Akihiro Kobayashi (second from left) and other executives apologize for the deaths and other health damage associated with its dietary supplements, in the city of Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 29, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma says blue mold compound may be cause of health problems
The beni kо̄ji red yeast rice dietary supplements are now linked to five deaths and 114 hospitalizations.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 29, 2024
Kobayashi Pharma scandal reignites debate on ‘functional food’ labels
The labels have been criticized for years over the lack of sufficient scientific proof of safety and efficacy accompanying their use.
According to Yano Research Institute, Japan's supplements market grew about 30% in the span of three years.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2024
Supplements market in Japan showing steady growth
Improved health awareness sparked by COVID-19 is a major factor fueling the growth, market research firms say.
JAPAN / Science & Health / EXPLAINER
Mar 28, 2024
What we know so far about Kobayashi Pharma's supplement deaths
The Osaka-based drugmaker is finding itself under further scrutiny as the search to pinpoint the cause of the deaths continues.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 27, 2024
Concerns mount after two deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharma supplement
A government probe is being conducted to establish whether the supplement, which contains beni kо̄ji red fermented rice, led to the deaths.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 24, 2024
Osaka drugmaker recalls dietary supplements linked to kidney disorders
The Osaka-based drugmaker announced Friday that, of the six hospitalized, two suffered symptoms serious enough to require temporary dialysis.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 15, 2024
Japan starts clinical trial of familial Alzheimer's treatment
The clinical trial is under way in 16 countries, with four people in their 30s to 50s participating in Japan.
Wegovy maker Novo Nordisk says the Japanese public needs to know more about obesity rates before the weight-loss drug can take off in the country.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Mar 9, 2024
Is Japan as thin as it thinks? Weight-loss drug maker says no.
In Japan, some 33% of men and 22% of women have a BMI of 25 — the crucial threshold — or more.
Alli, which will be available from April 8, is expected to reduce fat stored around internal organs and prevent obesity-related diseases.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 5, 2024
Japan’s first over-the-counter anti-obesity drug to hit stores in April
The drug is expected to reduce fat stored around internal organs and prevent obesity-related diseases.
Takeda Pharmaceutical is in talks to make its dengue vaccine available in India.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024
Takeda in regulatory talks to launch dengue vaccine in India
Takeda's dengue vaccine is currently available for children and adults in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Argentina and Brazil.
The Central Social Insurance Medical Council has adopted a proposal to increase outpatient fees in order to boost the salaries of health care workers.
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2024
Japan to raise outpatient visit fees to increase workers' pay
In order to increase pay for young doctors, nursing staff and pharmacists, basic hospitalization fees and outpatient fees will be raised.
Tokyo Medical and Dental University Hospital in Tokyo. A team including researchers from the university said it had created miniaturized organs closely resembling the human placenta.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 9, 2024
Japanese team creates miniaturized human placentas
Researchers expect the organs will help with understanding how viruses infect the placenta.
Pills move through a sorting machine at a pharmaceutical plant in Visakhapatnam, India. A recent report shows one Indian firm using suppliers with ties to China’s military industry, questionable track records on safety and bases in Xinjiang.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 6, 2024
U.S. taps Indian pharma, but supply chains still lead back to China
A recent report shows one Indian firm using suppliers with ties to China’s military industry, questionable track records on safety and bases in Xinjiang.
As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more U.S. firms say retailers turning away products
Empty shelves with "Buy Canadian Instead" signs are seen in the American Whiskey section of the BC Liquor in Vancouver, British Columbia, on March 10.
Trump unveils 10% global tariff, with Japan levy set at 24%
Trump tosses a MAGA hat to the crowd during an event in which he unveiled new tariffs in the White House on Wednesday.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
Japan, South Korea and China vow to strengthen trade ties amid looming U.S. tariffs
Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Yoji Muto (left), South Korean Trade Industry and Energy Minister Ahn Duk-geun (center) and Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao during a trilateral meeting in Seoul on Sunday
Haruki Murakami TV adaptation revisits 30 years of watershed moments
Though Haruki Murakami's trademark whiff of offbeat existentialism is threaded throughout NHK's "After the Quake," the final episode — conceived as a sequel to the story "Super-Frog Saves Tokyo" — is the most stylized, featuring an anthropomorphic talking frog (voiced by Non) and his erstwhile associate Katagiri (Koichi Sato).
A new human trafficking trend emerges from Myanmar scam centers
Victims of scam centers who were tricked or trafficked into working in Myanmar gather at a compound inside KK Park, a fraud center on the country's border with Thailand, after a multinational crackdown in February.
Meiji says sayonara to bottled milk, a staple of Japan's bathhouses
Meiji bottled milk lined up in a fridge at Kosugiyu, a bathhouse in Tokyo. The sticker urges patrons to enjoy the milk one last time before it’s gone.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
On defense, Japan may avoid Trump's worst impulses — for now
Defense Minister Gen Nakatani and U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth chat after reviewing an honor guard during a welcome ceremony at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on Sunday.

Podcast

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

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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