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August 13, 2026
 

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DRUGSTORES

A 2024 survey on high school students found that roughly 1 in 70 reported having misused over-the-counter drugs in the past year.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Apr 27, 2026
Japan to tighten rules on OTC drug sales to curb misuse among youth
Cases of acute poisoning and addiction to medication have surged since the COVID-19 pandemic, often involving easily accessible drugs sold at drugstores.
For Aeon, Kusuri no Aoki represents a potential valuable addition to its strategy of consolidating Â鶹´«Ã½ fragmented retail market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 16, 2026
A family fights to keep control of 157-year-old firm in Japan
Kusuri no Aoki, run by two brothers, are fighting for control of the firm with their largest outside shareholders, Aeon and the activist fund Oasis Management.
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.
Drugstore chain Tsuruha will become a subsidiary of major supermarket operator Aeon on Wednesday next week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 8, 2026
Aeon set to make drugstore chain Tsuruha a subsidiary next week
Aeon revised up its consolidated earnings estimates, reflecting the acquisition of Tsuruha.
The health ministry is considering allowing nationwide pharmacy sales of emergency contraceptive pills without requiring age restrictions or parental approval.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Aug 28, 2025
Japan weighs OTC sales of emergency contraceptive pills without age limit
To ensure proper use, the plan would require that the morning-after pill be taken in the presence of a pharmacist.
Tsuruha shareholders approved a merger plan with Welcia, which will result in an effective acquisition by supermarket chain Aeon.
BUSINESS
May 26, 2025
Tsuruha shareholders approve future merger with rival drugstore Welcia
Tsuruha, based in Sapporo, has announced it will integrate its operations with Welcia, the biggest force within the Japanese pharmacy industry, in December.
An Aeon store in Osaka. Aeon, the country¡¯s largest supermarket chain operator, last month said it will launch a tender offer to make Tsuruha a consolidated subsidiary at ?11,400 per share.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2025
Tsuruha shareholders to vote on criticized Aeon merger plan
The chorus reflects rising shareholder activism in Japan in recent years as the country¡¯s governance reforms embolden investors.
The government plans to lower official drug prices for fiscal 2025 while carefully considering the scope of items subject to the planned cuts in light of the impacts on drugmakers.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2024
Japanese drug market prices 5.2% lower than official prices
Generic drugs made up 62.1% of the market by value in September, with a government target of 65% by fiscal 2029 to cut medical costs.
Aeon plans to spend about ?102.3 billion to acquire a 13.6% additional stake in Tsuruha from Hong Kong-based hedge fund Oasis Management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 28, 2024
Retailer Aeon to merge with drugstore chains Tsuruha and Welcia
The three companies said they will seek to expand their businesses outside Japan.
A pedestrian walks outside an Aeon store near Kofukuji Matsubara shopping street in Yokohama in April 2022.
BUSINESS
Jan 29, 2024
Â鶹´«Ã½ Aeon in exclusive talks to buy Tsuruha stake from Oasis
An increase in Aeon¡¯s stake would add to its drugstore business, a key growth driver for the firm.
A drugstore in Tokyo in October
BUSINESS
Dec 23, 2023
Fund that got in before Buffett now likes Japan drugstores
A top fund manager says there¡¯s opportunity to profit from consolidation in the sector.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2023
Japan to tighten regulations on over-the-counter drug sales
The plan comes in response to the spread of overdoses mainly among young people.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2023
Â鶹´«Ã½ Tsuruha weighs sale after proxy battle with Oasis
The company is working with an adviser on the potential transaction and has reached out to some private equity firms to gauge their interest.
A Matsumotokiyoshi drugstore in Tokyo. Matsumotokiyoshi Holdings and Cocokara Fine integrated their operations in 2021.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Oct 10, 2023
Japanese drugstores under pressure for realignment
One analyst has described realignment in the drugstore sector as ¡°a natural course of development.¡±
Welcia Holdings, Â鶹´«Ã½ largest drugstore chain, is one of the first Japanese companies to respond to China easing its ban on group tours to a raft of countries last week.
BUSINESS
Aug 18, 2023
Japan drugstore chain boosts duty-free counters on China bets
The company plans to offer duty-free services at 1,000 stores, up from about 260 currently, and it expects tourists to travel beyond Â鶹´«Ã½ major cities.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2023
Electronic prescriptions fail to catch on in Japan
Despite the goal of countrywide integration by the end of fiscal 2024, only 2% of relevant medical facilities have begun using the system.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Science & Health
Mar 22, 2023
Hay fever medicine in high demand amid high pollen count
Sales of hay fever-related items such as anti-inflammatory nasal drugs more than doubled to 210% of last year¡¯s figure in the week from Feb. 27.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 11, 2023
Health ministry suggests restricting bulk drug purchases amid hoarding fears
The message follows reports of Chinese people in the country buying medicine in bulk and mailing it to friends and families back home.
Japan Times
WORLD / Science & Health
Apr 27, 2022
With supply more abundant, U.S. pharmacies struggle to use up COVID pills
The rollout of the COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid has been far more complicated and less efficient than expected, leaving hundreds of thousands of courses unused.
Gut bacteria may be behind many of Â鶹´«Ã½ colorectal cancer cases
A Japanese research team found that a toxin produced by certain E. coli strains, colibactin, caused genetic mutations in nearly half of colorectal cancer cases studied
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
She is Russia¡¯s richest woman. Her business empire is going up in flames.
Tatyana Kim, the head and co-founder of Wildberries, speaks about Ukrainian drone attacks on the company's warehouses in the course of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, at an unidentified location, in this still image from a handout video released on July 31.
Severe tropical storm Chan-hom makes landfall near Tokyo
Severe Tropical Storm Chan-hom made landfall around Ibaraki Prefecture, near Tokyo, on Tuesday night.
What Â鶹´«Ã½ language rules for permanent residency should look like
Potential health care workers hoping to find work in Japan take Japanese language instruction in Jakarta. Not all applicants for permanent residency should be expected to reach this level of proficiency.
Where do foreign residents in Japan want to die?
The Yokohama Foreign General Cemetery is one of the few cemeteries in Japan that allows burials, albeit with conditions for the deceased, including foreign nationality and permanent residency in Kanagawa Prefecture.
¡®Total whiplash¡¯: Foreign residents react to Â鶹´«Ã½ changing permanent residency rules
The entrance to the Tokyo Immigration Bureau in Minato Ward, Tokyo, in March. For some foreign residents of Japan, tightening measures for permanent residency have become one factor in a broader calculation over whether remaining in the country makes financial sense over the long term.
As Â鶹´«Ã½ concrete jungles sizzle, urban forestry offers an all-natural fix
People and birds find relief from the sun in Tokyo's Nakano Ward earlier this month. While experts agree that urban greening is crucial to mitigating the impact of climate change, trees are becoming even more scarce in Japanese cities.
Â鶹´«Ã½ brewers experiment with a secret ingredient: music
At Smoke Craft, a craft beer brewery in Tokorozawa, Saitama Prefecture, music isn't just a background to the brewing process ¡ª it's an ingredient.
As countries ban social media for children, Japan mulls a different approach
Data from NTT Docomo¡¯s Mobile Society Research Institute released in June found that 55% of respondents across all age groups said they fiddled with their phones when they had nothing to do, even when another person was in front of them.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

Disaster relief workers Taichi Kato (left) and Seiji Yoshimura enter the collapsed living quarters at Kyuganji temple in Yatsushiro, Kumamoto Prefecture.
What Kumamoto revealed about Â鶹´«Ã½ earthquake readiness
By Alex K.T. Martin

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