Photo/Illutration A Chinese woman visiting Tokyo's Toshima Ward carries a bag of medicine she bought for her relatives and friends on Dec. 23. (Go Takahashi)

The health ministry is asking drug stores and pharmacies to limit purchases of cold medicines by a single person to prevent the recent hoarding that is draining supplies.

Chinese shoppers living in or visiting Japan are believed to be buying the medicine to send home to their families and friends as novel coronavirus cases surge in China following the lifting of its “zero-COVID” policy.

Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare issued a notice on Dec. 26 to industry trade groups, asking them to take measures to prevent stockpiling and to stabilize over-the-counter drug supplies.

The ministry is now asking retailers to limit the amounts and frequency of purchases by individual customers, and to put up signs warning that reselling medicine could violate laws.

Demand for cold medicines and other drugs has risen since December. Some customers are buying much more than what a family can go through, and some pharmacies are running out of supplies, the ministry said.

However, the ministry added that, as of now, there is enough stock of such medicines, including those stored at manufacturers’ facilities.

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