Kobayashi Pharma fails to report 11 suspected deaths

Osaka, Aug. 13 (Jiji Press) — Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. reported Tuesday that it recently discovered 11 more deaths that should have been reported to Japan’s Health Ministry due to possible links to dietary supplements containing its red fermented “beni koji” rice.

The 11 cases were miscategorized when sorting through questions posed to the call center, the company said, explaining why the cases were not reported correctly.

There was an error in the company’s system for confirming damage reports, Kobayashi Pharmaceutical President Satoshi Yamane said in an online press conference. “We sincerely apologize for this,” he said.

It was later confirmed that five of the 11 victims had not taken the supplements in question, said the company, based in the western Japanese city of Osaka.

The remaining six cases are being investigated, because a possible link with the intake of the supplements cannot be ruled out, the company said.

After the late March revelation about the health risks posed by the supplements, the company initially said the number of deaths suspected to be linked to consumption of the supplements was five. In late June, an additional 76 suspected cases were found after the company counted fatalities resulting from causes other than kidney disease.

After further investigation, the number of suspected cases has risen to 116, including the cases announced on Tuesday, the company said.