Photo/Illutration Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. holds a regularly scheduled general shareholders’ meeting in Osaka on March 28. (Nobuhiro Shirai)

OSAKA—Families reported the deaths of two more people after taking a popular supplement containing benikoji, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. announced on March 28. 

This brings the total number of deaths suspected to be related to the intake of the company's “Benikoji coleste-help” supplement to four.

The health ministry said on March 28 that the company also reported that 93 people have been hospitalized for treatment and received 12,000 consultations. 

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference on March 28 that information is being provided to the World Health Organization and other countries.

Hayashi said that the products are being recalled in China and Taiwan as well. 

“We intend to disseminate information to foreign countries in a timely and appropriate manner to ensure confidence in Japanese food products,” Hayashi said.

The Osaka city government, where Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is based, issued an order  to the company on March 27 to destroy three products containing benikoji.

According to the company, two surviving family members each contacted the company that day to report that the person died after ingesting the supplement containing the malted rice ingredient. 

The family of one of them explained that the deceased person had kidney disease.

The company said it is investigating whether there was a causal link to ingestion of the supplement.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical announced on March 22 that health problems, including kidney disease, had been reported by consumers taking its supplements.

The company is investigating the connection between the health hazards and “unknown ingredients” detected in some of its products and ingredients.

The benikoji ingredient in the supplement is also sold to other companies, and the Consumer Affairs Agency states that approximately 170 companies, including food manufacturers, have been affected, prompting voluntary recalls of their products.

Amid the growing seriousness of the problem, the company held a general shareholders’ meeting in Osaka on March 28, which had been scheduled before the health concern arose. 

Since the announcement of a voluntary recall of the supplements on March 22, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's stock price has fallen nearly 20 percent.

During the meeting, shareholders commented on the company’s slow response on issuing a recall.

Shareholders with grim expressions on their faces gathered at a hotel in Osaka, the meeting venue, from around 9 a.m.

A male shareholder in his 60s said, “The company is slow to respond, and I wonder how much it will cost to compensate (business partners).”

Another male shareholder in his 70s expressed his anger, “They should have acted when (the doctor) contacted them in January” to report a health problem. 

A female shareholder in her 60s said, “This is a large company and I had high expectations. It is shocking to see it come to a point where people’s lives are at stake.”

At the beginning of the meeting, which started at 10 a.m., company President Akihiro Kobayashi explained the situation and told shareholders, “We deeply regret the great inconvenience we have caused.”

Kobayashi said, “We pray for the souls of those who lost their lives and offer our condolences to the bereaved families. We pray for the speedy recovery of those who have suffered health problems.”

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is involved in a wide range of health-related products in addition to pharmaceuticals and is known for offerings such as Ammeltz, Itoyoji and Netsusama Sheet.

In the fiscal year ending in December 2023, sales grew 4.3 percent year-on-year to 173.4 billion yen ($1.15 billion), and net income increased 1.6 percent year-on-year to 20.3 billion yen.

(This article was written by Shiro Matsuda, Nanami Watanabe and Tomoki Morishita.)

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