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Agence France-Presse

A Japanese drug maker whose dietary supplements are at the centre of a growing health scare reported on Thursday two more deaths potentially related to its tablets.
Last week, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical recalled three supplement brands – “Beni Koji Choleste Help” and two others – after customer complaints of kidney problems.
The over-the-counter products contain an ingredient called red yeast rice, or beni koji, which is supposed to help lower cholesterol.
Thursday’s announcement brings the total number of deaths under investigation by the company and health ministry to four, with more than 100 other people hospitalised.
“We were told yesterday by a bereaved family that a person who had been using Choleste Help had passed away due to kidney disease,” the drug maker said in a statement.
Cholesterol pills spark health scare in Japan after 2 die, over 100 in hospital
It added it had been told separately that another person who had used Choleste Help in recent years had died.
“We are in the process of confirming the facts and causal relationships in both of these cases,” the statement said.
“However, we decided to make this report public from the viewpoint of prompt disclosure.”
Medical studies describe red yeast rice as an alternative to statins for lowering high cholesterol, but also warn of a risk of organ damage depending on its chemical make-up.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical sells a wide range of health products marketed through television adverts in Japan.
The Osaka-based company says it has also supplied red yeast rice to around 50 other firms in Japan and two in Taiwan.


Government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Thursday that authorities were doing “their utmost to ensure food safety, including identifying the substance that caused the health harm and how it became present in the product”.
The government has ordered various health-food makers to review their products, while telling foreign countries about the issue through Japan’s embassies, he said.
Dozens of Japanese firms that used beni koji provided by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical have also separately announced recalls.
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The affected products include health tablets as well as a rose-coloured sparkling sake, salad dressing, bread and miso paste used in many traditional dishes.
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has said analysis had found a possibility that the products contained “ingredients we had not intended to include”.
But it said it did not find any citrinin produced by red yeast rice, which is toxic and can damage the kidneys.


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2 more deaths linked to Japan company’s cholesterol-lowering tablets

A man walks past a signage of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical outside the company’s office in Tokyo on March 28. Photo: AFP

Cholesterol tablets spark health scare after 2 die in Japan, more than 100 hospitalised

Medical research describes red yeast rice as an alternative to statins for lowering high cholesterol. Photo: Shutterstock

Red yeast rice, or “beni koji” can cause organ damage depending on its chemical make-up, medical research suggests. Photo: Shutterstock

Diaper dilemma: Japan firm switches to adult nappies, ditches baby products amid demographic crisis

Young children are held aloft by their parents at a “baby-crying” competition in Tokyo last year. There were just 758,631 children born in Japan in 2023, a record low. Photo: AFP

A mother feeds her 11-month-old at a restaurant for infants in a department store in Tokyo. Instead of meeting babies’ needs, Tokyo-based Oji intends to shift its focus to the other end of Japan’s population spectrum. Photo: AP 

News

Asia

East Asia

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said four deaths were under investigation by the firm and health ministry, with more than 100 other people hospitalised
The products contain an ingredient called red yeast rice, which is supposed to help reduce cholesterol


Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said four deaths were under investigation by the firm and health ministry, with more than 100 other people hospitalised.


Wellness