Photo/Illutration Kiyoshi Hidaka, chief of the lawyers’ group on “benikoji” supplements’ health problems, speaks at a news conference in Osaka on Oct. 9. Deputy chief Soichiro Suga is to his right. (Yuki Hanano)

OSAKA—Lawyers are going to bat for people suffering kidney problems after taking Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co.’s dietary supplements using “benikoji” red yeast rice.

A newly formed group of 17 lawyers working on consumer affairs plans to solicit consultations from victims nationwide and negotiate compensation with the Osaka-based manufacturer.

Soichiro Suga, deputy chief of the group, told a news conference here on Oct. 9 that many people are concerned about the health hazards of the supplements.

The Osaka Bar Association received 80 calls from around the country in a telephone consultation arranged in April.

In addition, about 10 people attended an explanatory meeting in September.

“We need to ensure that relief will be provided to victims in cases that are likely to have caused serious health problems,” Suga said.

Lawyers said they will consider filing lawsuits, depending on the circumstances.

They said the group is the first of its kind that supports people suffering health problems after ingesting the products that touted efficacy in lowering “bad” low-density lipoprotein cholesterol.

A woman in her 50s in Tokyo, who attended the explanatory meeting in September, felt nausea, fatigue and loss of appetite, which are typical symptoms of kidney damage, in February.

She had been taking a Kobayashi Pharmaceutical benikoji supplement since 2022.

In March, the company announced that it had received an inquiry from a doctor about the suspected link between a benikoji supplement and a patient with kidney disease in January. 

The woman immediately went to a university hospital, where she was diagnosed with kidney damage and was hospitalized for 19 days.

The doctor has instructed her to keep her daily salt intake within 6 grams.

“Things might have been different if I had been told to stop taking the product in January,” the woman said. “I hope Kobayashi Pharmaceutical will take my suffering seriously.”

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical reported to the health ministry that 514 people had been hospitalized as of Oct. 6 and 124 others who died had taken its supplements.

The health ministry announced last month that its investigation found that puberulic acid derived from blue mold that was mixed into the products caused kidney damage.

A man in Osaka Prefecture, who developed kidney damage after taking a benikoji supplement, filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer in July, seeking about 5 million yen ($34,000) in compensation.

The Consumer Protection Association in Taiwan and Taiwanese consumers also took the case to court in September.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical has said it will offer compensation if a “reasonable” cause-and-effect relationship is confirmed through a doctor’s certificate or other evidence.

“We will provide sincere and appropriate compensation to customers who have suffered health problems,” the company told The Asahi Shimbun after the lawyers’ group was formed.

The group can be reached via its Japanese-language website: (https://benikoujisup-higaibengodan.jimdofree.com/)

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