The health ministry is in talks to allow emergency contraceptive pills to be sold at pharmacies nationwide without age restrictions or the need for parental consent.
The proposed conditions for allowing over-the-counter sales were approved on Thursday at a meeting of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, according to Nikkei.
To ensure proper use, the plan would require that the morning-after pill be taken in the presence of a pharmacist.
The emergency contraceptive pill Norlevo is under consideration for over-the-counter sales, following an application by its manufacturer, Aska Pharmaceutical, which has been under review by the health ministry since June 2024.
The ministry will deliberate on whether to approve the sale of the drug as an over-the-counter medication at its committee meeting on Friday. ¡¡
Designed to prevent unwanted pregnancies ¡ª including those resulting from contraceptive failure or sexual assault ¡ª the pill must be taken within 72 hours of sexual intercourse to be effective. Currently in Japan, a doctor¡¯s prescription is needed to access emergency contraceptives.
However, amid growing concerns that access was too limited ¡ª especially since most clinics are only open during weekday daytime hours, even though time is a critical factor for the contraceptive to be effective ¡ª the health ministry began trialing over-the-counter sales in November 2023.
The trial sales are currently being conducted in around 340 pharmacies across the nation, and only people over the age of 16 are able to purchase the pill, with those under 18 required to have a consent form signed by a parent.
Around 6,800 sales have been made between December 2023 and January 2025, with the majority of the purchasers being older than 20, although 9% were between the age of 16 to 19, according to the health ministry.
In the trial, a high percentage of participants said they were satisfied in areas such as receiving a thorough explanation, as well as the consideration of privacy. There was a low satisfaction rate regarding the amount that they paid, however; the emergency pill currently costs around ?7,000 to ?9,000.
Emergency contraception can be bought without a prescription in about 90 countries around the world.
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