Source: Global Information Broadcasting
According to the news released by Japan's Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Company on the 29th, as of 22 pm local time on the 28th, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's health products containing red yeast rice raw materials have caused 5 deaths and 114 hospitalizations.
△ Screenshot of Kyodo News report
On the 28th, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. held a general meeting of shareholders in Osaka City, and shareholders expressed extreme dissatisfaction and anger at the company's handling of the matter.
Akihiro Kobayashi, president of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., apologized again at the shareholders' meeting on the same day.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said on the same day that it intends to compensate its business partners who purchased red yeast rice as a raw material, and it is expected that the total cost of the recall will be 1.8 billion yen (about 86 million yuan), including Kobayashi Pharmaceutical and its 52 buyers. But Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said there were at least 170 final buyers of such goods. As a result, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's compensation amount is likely to increase significantly, including compensation for those who die and are hospitalized as a result of taking health supplements.
Yutaka Arai, head of Japan's Consumer Agency, announced on the 28th that it has begun an emergency inspection of all about 1,700 businesses selling functional labeled foods in the market. Confirm whether any health facilities report health issues and whether mechanisms are in place to collect information on health issues. According to Japan's TBS TV station, a total of 6,795 product categories were involved in the emergency inspection.
FamilyMart, a large Japanese convenience store chain, said on the 28th that it had decided to refund customers who had purchased related products because the three types of food sold in the store used red yeast rice ingredients produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Company.
△ Screenshot of the report of TBS TV in Japan
According to Japanese media reports on the 28th, Japan's Toyama City also investigated two pharmaceutical companies in the city on the 27th, both of which have produced products that have been ordered to be recycled using red yeast rice raw materials, but the two companies have not yet received complaints about health problems.
Xiang Haoyu, a distinguished researcher at the Asia-Pacific Institute of the China Institute of International Studies, pointed out in an interview with China Central Radio and Television Global News Broadcast that the scope of the current relevant events cannot be fully confirmed, which is the main reason for the unrest in Japanese society.
The red yeast rice incident has turned into a food safety crisis. At present, the Japanese authorities are relatively busy, and no substantive progress has been made in the investigation. Whether it is Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's own red yeast rice problem, or whether it is a product for a specific purpose, still needs to wait for the results of authoritative investigations.
If the harm is limited to some health products produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Company, more cases of injury and even death will definitely be exposed in the future.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is a well-known large pharmaceutical company in Japan, and its health care products are not only sold in Japan, but also loved and sought after by many foreign consumers. Therefore, Japan should also follow up and investigate the flow and impact of products in a responsible manner, and issue a warning to the international community, recall the relevant products, and actively compensate consumers.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on the 28th that efforts must be made to find out the cause and consider taking all necessary measures to deal with it. Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi also said on the same day that Japan is providing information to the World Health Organization and other countries and regions.
△ Screenshot of the report of the Japan Mainichi Shimbun website
Xiang Haoyu pointed out that the Japanese government is eager to calm down the impact and impact of related incidents on the image of the Kishida government and the country, but the key to solving the problem lies in actions rather than statements.
This incident will deal a serious blow to Japan's national image. For a long time, Japan has been boasting that it has done a good job in food safety and medical and health safety, but now there is such a serious health product safety incident, which exposes a big hole in Japan's supervision of related fields.
The Kishida government needs to complete two tasks as soon as possible: First, investigate and clarify where the problem lies and give a responsible explanation to the people. Second, it is necessary to cut off the circulation and sale of relevant products in the market as soon as possible to prevent the spread of the incident. These should not stop at words, but take action to control the impact of the incident with high efficiency.
Although the company is directly responsible for this incident, the government, as the regulator, cannot escape the blame. The Japanese people will also judge the Kishida government's ability to govern through the handling of this incident. Now that the approval ratings of the Kishida cabinet are hovering at a low level, the incident could well be the last straw that breaks the camel's back if it is not handled properly.
Material source丨Global Information Broadcasting "Live World"
Reporter of the main station丨Liu Zhuoye Chen Meng