Just order via a Chinese messaging app… We hit a “suspected pharmacy” where you can buy drugs “without a prescription”!

Chinese Money Flows into Jittery Dispensing Pharmacies

What are you doing here?　There is nothing to talk about with you!　Get out!”

One morning in mid-February, a middle-aged woman’s high-pitched, angry voice rang out inside a dispensing pharmacy housed in a small building in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The woman’s voice was in Japanese, but her accent was recognizably that of a native Chinese speaker. This was the scene when the author identified a pharmacy that appeared to be illegally selling prescription drugs (hereinafter referred to as “prescription drugs”) and visited the pharmacy to interview the owner.

According to Tokyo Shoko Research, the number of bankruptcies of dispensing pharmacies in 2013 was 38, the highest number ever recorded. The reason for this is said to be that profits are being squeezed due to the revision of drug prices and the aggressive opening of new pharmacies by major chains. Chinese money is said to be flowing into this struggling industry. A reporter for a pharmaceutical industry newspaper revealed the following.

The number of Chinese nationals who are participating in the management of dispensing pharmacies is increasing by acquiring dispensing pharmacies that are in a state of grinding poverty and hiring pharmacists who have closed their own private pharmacies. They have no intention of running a dispensing pharmacy properly, and their objective is to sell the pharmaceuticals they purchase online to Chinese nationals in their home countries or in Japan. In many cases, they are involved in online sales of prescription drugs, which are prohibited under the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law.”

Last July, a pharmacy in Osaka City was ordered by the city to suspend operations for 45 days and improve its business operations for selling prescription drugs to those who had not received a prescription. The company operating the pharmacy was represented by a person from China.

In the process of covering the pharmaceutical abuse of “Toyoko Kids,” the author discovered that there are also pharmacies in Tokyo that illegally sell prescription drugs. Using a translation app, the author discovered that some “Tou-Yoko Kids” were purchasing new diabetes drugs for weight loss, such as Manjaro and Reversus, and antibiotics for treating sexually transmitted diseases from several Chinese pharmacies.

The author obtained several “WeChat” (a Chinese messaging app) accounts of illegal pharmacies from them and approached them in Chinese, posing as potential buyers. While many of the accounts were suspicious or did not respond, one responded, “What do you want?” and there was a response. I asked about the inventory of typical prescription drugs such as Relenza, Tamiflu, and antibiotics, and was told that all of them were available for purchase.

The author actually ordered tramadol hydrochloride (trade name: Tramal) (second photo). Tramal, a painkiller prescribed to cancer patients and others, is a deleterious drug classified as an opioid analgesic. Because of its unique intoxicating effects on abusers, Tramal is also regarded overseas as a gateway drug that can lead to opioid dependence.

Fourteen thousand yen.”

The recipient replied immediately. I paid the amount via PayPay as specified, and the actual product arrived two days later (third photo).

The name of the item on the invoice was “Supplement,” and the name and address of the sender was “Ditto. This is probably a sign that they are aware of the illegality of the product. Another thing that caught my attention was that the character for “beach” included in the destination address was marked with “うかんむり” (うかんむり), which is mainly used in mainland China. This is a simplified Chinese character used mainly in mainland China.

From the “Inquiry Number,” we learned that the handling station was a post office in Shinjuku Ward. After comparing photos on WeChat of pharmacies in the post office’s pickup and delivery area with photos of the inside of the pharmacy where he had purchased the medicine, he arrived at a dispensing pharmacy.

After checking the registration information of the company operating the pharmacy, we found that the representative director and the director had the same Japanese surname, “X.” As a side note, we found that the pharmacy was located in the ’22 area. As a side note, when the company was established in 2010, the address of the representative director was a 50-year-old condominium in Itabashi Ward. However, he has now moved to a luxury condominium in Shinjuku Ward, which is estimated to cost no less than 100 million yen.

They won’t be punished.”

How do they respond to the allegations of illegal prescription drug sales? After the pharmacy was closed for business, the author directly interviewed a pharmacist who came out of the store (first photo on previous page). He seemed annoyed at the sudden visitor and was about to leave, but when I told him that I had purchased Tramal myself, he stopped and said, “We don’t do that anymore.

I’m not doing it anymore. Come back to the store tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. so I can talk to you.”

I revisited the pharmacy at the specified time. A woman claiming to be the “person in charge” showed up, and I was told to leave the pharmacy as described at the beginning of this article (4th photo).

The author asked the woman, “Are you Mr. X?” but she neither denied nor affirmed. Eventually, the pharmacist who had directly attacked the woman the night before also came out from the back of the store and joined the woman. The author was thrown out of the store. The pharmacist was adamant to the end, saying, “I won’t be punished for something as trivial as this.

Later, I sent a written inquiry to the pharmacy’s management regarding the illegal sale of prescription drugs. Instead of a response, however, the author received a “notice” from a lawyer representing the pharmacy management company. The letter stated, “We are currently ensuring the lawful sale of prescription drugs based on prescriptions in accordance with the guidance of the Shinjuku City Public Health Center,” and then refused to answer any questions from the author, saying, “We will not respond to any interviews or questions from your company. It even warned the author and the magazine of “legal action, both criminal and civil,” against the company.

So much for the “Farewell. The author provided information about the illegal activities of the pharmacy to the Health Department of the Shinjuku City Public Health Center, which has jurisdiction over the pharmacy, along with evidence obtained through the interview. Will the day ever come when the illegal pharmacy, which could be the source of drug abuse, is brought to justice?

From ⚫︎FRIDAY March 6 issue