Health issues among three of the deceased also included hypertension, hyperlipidemia and rheumatism, while the medical history of the remaining two are unknown, the ministry said at a joint press conference with the Japanese Society of Nephrology.
As spring and the next fiscal year arrives, some changes and new policies that may affect the elderly and people with disabilities in Japan will be rolled out. Public subsidies related to the coronavirus will change, limits on overtime for doctors will be imposed and backed by penalties. Fees paid to nursing care providers will go up 1.59% overall and the revised Act for Eliminating Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities will come into effect.
Japanese drugmaker Kobayashi Pharmaceutical says water accidentally leaked into a tank making “beni-koji” red yeast rice supplement and other products’ ingredients at its factory. But the company says it remains unknown whether the leak has anything to do with the kidney and other health problems among those who took supplements and other products with “beni-koji” ingredients.
There were 7,637,967 ambulance dispatches in Japan in 2023, the highest figure since comparable data became available in 1963, the Fire and Disaster Management Agency said in a preliminary report. From the previous year, ambulance dispatches increased 5.6 pct. The agency also said a record 6,639,959 people, up 6.8 pct, were transported by ambulance.
Around 80 percent of patients who developed health issues after consuming Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. red yeast rice dietary supplements went to the hospital in January or later, a study by the Japanese Society of Nephrology showed Monday.
Authorities conducted an on-site inspection of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s plant in Osaka on Saturday following many reports of health problems from users of its supplement products containing “beni koji” red fermented rice.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Friday that it has confirmed a fifth death possibly linked to its red yeast rice dietary supplements, but has yet to determine the substance that may be responsible for causing health problems amid hundreds of reports of people falling ill.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said that it plans to cover, at the very least, the treatment costs of hospitalized patients, outpatients and others. It will also offer similar compensation to affected users outside of Japan. According to the health ministry, 93 people have been hospitalized after taking the supplement products, with the company receiving around 12,000 inquiries as of Wednesday.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. President and Chief Operating Officer Akihiro Kobayashi apologized to shareholders at a meeting on Thursday for health problems that have occurred among users of its dietary supplement product containing “beni koji” red fermented rice, he did not say whether he would step down as COO.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday that it has confirmed two more deaths linked to its red yeast rice dietary supplements, with the burgeoning health scandal leading to widespread voluntary recalls.
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