Japan plans to allocate ¥100 billion to ensure stable drug supply

Throwing ¥100 billion at Big Pharma to "ensure a stable drug supply" is like paying arsonists to guard your house - it’s not solving the problem, it’s funding it. Maybe if people spent more time exercising, eating real food and not carcinogenic convenience store bentos, and taking responsibility for their health, they wouldn’t need a "stable supply" of overpriced pills to fix problems they can prevent. But hey, why promote holistic health and self-discipline when you can just line the pockets of pharmaceutical giants instead?

Jay

Throwing ¥100 billion at Big Pharma to "ensure a stable drug supply" is like paying arsonists to guard your house - it’s not solving the problem, it’s funding it. Maybe if people spent more time exercising, eating real food and not carcinogenic convenience store bentos, and taking responsibility for their health, they wouldn’t need a "stable supply" of overpriced pills to fix problems they can prevent. But hey, why promote holistic health and self-discipline when you can just line the pockets of pharmaceutical giants instead?

And you are saying that about one of the most healthiest eating countries in the world.

And you are saying that about one of the most healthiest eating countries in the world.

That's a solid YES on that one. Whatever you may think, Japan's reputation for being the pinnacle of health abysmally crumbles when you look closer. Don't let that life expectancy fool you, instead consider the trade-offs: Japan has one of the highest suicide rates among developed nations, with over 20,000 suicides annually - hardly a sign of peak mental health.

Physically, the extreme over-reliance on white rice and high-sodium food contributes to rampant hypertension and one of the highest rates of stomach cancer in the world.

Japan isn’t the picture of perfect health; it’s a nation masking systemic health crises behind a veneer of longevity. And all of those issues can be solved without high-risk pharmaceuticals and their litany of side-effects.

Overhauls like this are of major importance for Japan to remain at the top of the world for longevity and happiness.

Unfortunately Japan isn't even in the top 100, the majority of which is dominated by Christian nations.

https://worldhappiness.report/

My diabetic medicine in Japan cost the same with insurance as it did an Indonesia without insurance. Someone is making a ton of money here.

Jay

All I know is after living in Japan for 27 years my home country doctor is astonished on my general health compared to my family history. I eat whatever I want here, I drink like a fish and the only exercise I get is raising my elbow at the bar (most nights). I am as fit a a fiddle well into my 50's but get around like a 30 year old. Most members in my family have not even lived that long! But I guess thats just luck, nothing to do with healthy eating and living in Japan. I will say the lifestyle here is very healthy.

Glad to see a rise in generic brand drugs here. I was taking medicine that cost me about 7,000 yen for the name-brand drug but it dropped to about 3,000 when the generic brand became available.

I agree with both posters above that less consumption of ultra-processed and high-sodium foods while exercising more would be a major plus health-wise. But Japanese are relatively healthy too compared to many developed countries around the world.

But I am noticing more and more people getting "rounder" especially in the last 20 years.

Surprisingly, this is unlikely to be corporate welfare for Big Pharma.

Basic medicines are in short supply globally.

https://cpe.org.uk/dispensing-and-supply/supply-chain/medicine-shortages/

Nobody is being honest or open about why this should suddenly have started to happen recently. Just vague statements about supply chains. Governments are being as quiet as they can be about it, so may be responsible for it. The UK has been hit hard as it left the EU support system for medicine shortages at Brexit, but it is a global issue.

The drugs include those for Diabetes and ADHD, and some that leave patients at risk if they cannot obtain a regular supply.

Diet and exercise are good, but they will only take you so far. If you have a medical condition, you will need medication.

Transparency would be good on this issue, but I suspect there is some sort of cover up, and it will just continue. Increased global manufacturing is a good thing. Tribalised production just for your own country is a bad thing and will increase shortages around the world, leading to avoidable deaths.

They know how to directly lead and keep you in their trap. There's no getting out. Health insurance sounds nice and in emergency cases it is good to have, but the pressure for yearly medical checks is high. Then they find anything as no one is 100% healthy all the time. Then they got you , trapped in their machinery of unnecessary hospital visits and medications, every month or every three months, whatever. Does it help you anything or make you healthier and fitter? Not really, sometimes it makes one even sicker, not to forget all the costs for the commuting, lost time, medications and hospital visits. It's good to have the system available, but it's also a never ending nightmare on the other hand.

Many Japanese medical staff had already appealed lack of pharmaceuticals from last year, but response of government is delayed despite economic power country. 

This is one of symbolic issues of recent Japan where LDP politics declines country.