Tokyo [Japan], June 27 : In a big step towards joining dozens of other nations that currently allow such sales at pharmacies, Japan's health ministry announced Monday that it will allow the trial sale of emergency contraceptives without a prescription beginning this summer, Kyodo News reported.
A ministry panel has approved the sale of so-called morning-after pills at pharmacies that have trained pharmacists, private rooms, and are available on weekends, nights and holidays through March. They must also be able to coordinate with obstetrics and gynaecology clinics in the area.
As per the current rules, women, even sexual assault victims, have to travel to a clinic or hospital for a prescription to purchase emergency contraception, which works best within 72 hours of unprotected intercourse, as per Kyodo News.
Kyodo News is a Japan-based news agency established in November 1945.
A ministry panel debated selling the medicine without a prescription in 2017, but the ministry stopped short of giving the green light, with critics claiming that making a morning-after pill available would encourage irresponsible use of the drug after intercourse.
According to research conducted by the Health, Labour, and Welfare Ministry, emergency contraception has been available without a prescription in around 90 countries, according to Kyodo News.
Clinical research done both at home and abroad show that emergency contraceptive tablets have an 80 per cent efficacy rate. Medical professionals have urged for increased access to the medicine in Japan, arguing that it might give rape victims a vital recourse while potentially lowering the need for abortions.
Following the Cabinet's approval of various gender equality policies in late 2020, debates related to the over-the-counter distribution of emergency contraception pills have resumed.
From the end of December to the beginning of January, the health ministry received 46,312 public comments, with the vast majority in favour of the trial sale, Kyodo News reported.
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