Red yeast rice malt damage] Urine foaming and stabbing pain… The true reason for the “fearless smile in direct response to this magazine” by the elite president of Kobayashi Pharmaceutical’s founding family
Akihiro Kobayashi (52) Five people who used "Red Yeast Rice Supplement" died and 157 were hospitalized. He apologized in tears at the general shareholders' meeting, but for some reason he smiled and ......
Harmful Effects of Family Business
Some people who have taken health foods containing red yeast rice have reported a variety of symptoms, including bubbling urine like cola, blackish brown color, and stabbing pain in the lower abdomen. A man in his 60s who was interviewed expressed his frustration, saying, “Only those who have used it can understand this horror.
Amidst the cries of grief from those who have taken the product, President Akihiro Kobayashi has been busy responding to the situation. He has already held two press conferences, and furthermore, at the general shareholders’ meeting held on March 28, he shed tears and apologized.
Kobayashi, the sixth generation of the founding family, attended Keio Junior High School and graduated from Keio University with a degree in economics. After working for Kao for four years, he joined Kobayashi Pharmaceutical in ’98.’ He is an elite who became the president of the company in 2001 at the age of just 42. He was ranked 27th in the “Euret” (a corporate value search service) ranking of the top 100 companies in Japan last year, and his assets are estimated at 121.5 billion yen,” said a reporter for an economic magazine.
On the other hand, there is a possibility that his position as the heir to the founding family has complicated matters.
His father, Chairman Kazumasa (85), still exerts a strong influence, and some in the industry deride President Akihiro as a “decoration president. Many of the senior executives are still treated as “dim-witted” by the heavy hitters. I think he had a hard time getting his own opinion across.
In fact, it took more than two months from January 15, when Kobayashi Pharmaceutical received the first report of a suspected health hazard, to March 22, when the company voluntarily recalled the product. Since no information was provided to the government, Minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare Keizo Takemi expressed his harsh stance, saying, “I must say that this is regrettable. The fact that there was no cause-and-effect relationship is not surprising,” said Masahiro Ue, president of the Institute of Medical Governance, a nonprofit organization.
Even though the cause-and-effect relationship was not determined, it was a huge failure in terms of crisis management. Supplements are basically used every day, and the high frequency of use may have allowed toxicity to accumulate without being broken down. Even if there was no problem with the standards of use, verification may be necessary.”
