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July 03, 2026
 

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PHARMACEUTICALS

An Afghan man buys medicine at a pharmacy in Kabul on Feb. 9.
WORLD
Feb 17, 2026
Bitter pill: Taliban government shakes up Afghan medicine market
A decision to overhaul its medicine market was meant to improve quality and boost domestic production, but industry specialists say the changes have led to a litany of problems.
The Tokyo office of the National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan
JAPAN / Society
Feb 3, 2026
Problems with mail-order drug subscriptions rising in Japan
The National Consumer Affairs Center of Japan (NCAC) is calling on people to carefully check contract details before completing orders to purchase nonprescription drugs online.
From Monday, NorLevo, an emergency contraceptive pill marketed by Daiichi Sankyo Healthcare, can be purchased over the counter at approximately 5,400 pharmacies and drugstores nationwide.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Feb 2, 2026
Morning-after pill becomes available over the counter, in a first for Japan
Under the new rules, only the person who will take the medication may buy it, and it must be taken in the presence of a pharmacist after receiving an explanation.
Kunihiro Nitta, a pharmacist at the Sukoyaka pharmacy in Naha, gives medication instructions to a resident on Minamidaito Island in Okinawa Prefecture via a video call in September.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Okinawa
Feb 2, 2026
Pharmacy in Okinawa goes online to reach residents on remote islands
Sukoyaka pharmacy stepped up after two local pharmacies on Minamidaito Island and Yonaguni Island hundreds of kilometers away were shuttered.
Two new drug ingredients found in cough and allergy medicines will be added to a list of over-the-counter drug ingredients that may be abused.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 25, 2026
Japan to designate eight ingredients for list of drugs with abuse risk
These ingredients will be subject to sales restrictions under the revised pharmaceutical and medical device law, which takes effect in May.
More and more people are using Mounjaro, a drug used to treat diabetes, in the hopes of losing weight.
JAPAN / Society / Regional Voices: Kyushu
Jan 12, 2026
Doctors warn of risks of taking diabetes drug to lose weight
There have been reports of people experiencing adverse side effects, according to the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency.
Facing the dual pressures of short-term investor scrutiny and government-forced price cuts, Japanese drugmakers are opting to delist in order to seek greater management flexibility to cut costs, reshape portfolios and invest for the long term.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2026
Buyout wave seen among Japan drugmakers after Hisamitsu deal
Drugmakers are opting to delist in order to seek greater management flexibility amid dual pressures of short-term investor scrutiny and government-forced price cuts.
Known for its Salonpas pain-relief patches, Hisamitsu joins a growing list of Japanese companies exiting the public market to shield themselves from regulatory and investor pressure to lift valuations and implement more oversight.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jan 7, 2026
Hisamitsu shares jump most since 1978 on $2.9 billion buyout
The proposed offer of ¥6,082 per share represents a roughly 35% premium to Hisamitsu’s unaffected closing price on Monday.
Boxes of Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical’s Salonpas-branded pain-relieving patch. Hisamitsu’s management is considering a takeover bid to privatize the company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 6, 2026
CEO of Salonpas maker seeks to take $2.9 billion drug firm private
A growing list of companies are exiting the public market to shield themselves from growing regulatory and investor pressure to lift valuations and implement more oversight.
Gray wolves and ancient dire wolves diverged millions of years ago, yet groundbreaking efforts to resurrect the extinct species by modifying modern wolves cannot replace the lost ecosystems that once sustained it.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 30, 2025
Science still made incredible breakthroughs while under attack
Scientists around the world produced amazing discoveries every day — some of which made a big splash while others didn’t get nearly the attention they deserved.
Lawson President Sadanobu Takemasu speaks during an interview in Tokyo earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 28, 2025
Lawson may start over-the-counter drug delivery in 2026
The service, which allows customers to order OTC drugs for home delivery, will be introduced after an easing of drug sales regulations for convenience stores.
Last month, U.S. regulators laid out a pathway for approving gene-editing treatments for individual patients, removing requirements for repetitive studies that turned off drugmakers.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 26, 2025
Gene editing superstars team up to make cheaper rare disease cures
For a technology that costs millions, a collaborative approach may improve efficiency and allow the science to live up to its potential.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an announcement on a deal with drugmakers in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington on Friday.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 20, 2025
Nine drugmakers strike deals with Trump, with more to come
The agreements are the latest in a series of pacts designed to lower drug prices for some Americans in exchange for a three-year reprieve from threatened tariffs.
Psoriasis is a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes rashes marked by itchy, scaly rashes and afflicts more than 125 million people worldwide.
JAPAN
Dec 18, 2025
Takeda’s psoriasis pill developed with AI assistance succeeds in trials
If approved, zasocitinib would stand out as one of the first drugs discovered with the help of artificial intelligence.
Over-the-counter sales of emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo will begin in February.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 18, 2025
Japan to start OTC sales of emergency contraception in February
Daiichi Sankyo’s drug, Norlevo, will mark the first time such a pill will be available without a prescription in Japan.
A scientist looks at hypometabolic and hypoperfusion patterns at the single-subject level from a patient suffering from Alzheimer's disease at a hospital in Geneva in June 2023.
WORLD / Science & Health
Dec 12, 2025
Alzheimer’s drug hunt learns from cancer fight’s multi-target playbook
Just two drugs are widely approved to slow Alzheimer’s — Eli Lilly’s Kisunla and Leqembi from Eisai and Biogen.
The health ministry plans to lower official drug prices to reduce financial burdens on the public, as market prices often fall below official prices due to competition.
JAPAN
Dec 4, 2025
Japan to lower official drug prices in fiscal 2026
The government is expected to lower the state-set prices of drugs after a health ministry survey found that market prices are lower than the official prices.
Once riding high on the COVID-19 boom, China’s vaccine industry now faces a reckoning.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2025
China’s 78-cent flu shots show price squeeze for country’s vaccine makers
Intensifying competition pushes prices lower and erodes profits for an industry that was once riding high on the COVID-19 boom.
The U.S. and the world face a growing security risk due to heavy dependence on China for key pharmaceutical ingredients, prompting calls to diversify supply chains to reduce geopolitical vulnerabilities.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 30, 2025
China holds all the cards in global pharmaceuticals
China is the exclusive supplier of at least one chemical used in nearly 700 crucial medicines.
Medical sector organizations including the Japan Medical Association are calling for a drastic fee hike to deal with inflation and wage increases.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Nov 29, 2025
Japan to accelerate talks over revision to medical service fees
According to a health ministry survey, about 60% of general hospitals in the country posted red ink in fiscal 2024.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.

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