Taiko Pharmaceutical Ordered to Pay over ¥600 Million in Disinfectant Product Debacle

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:47 JST, April 11, 2023

Taiko Pharmaceutical Co. has been ordered to pay a record surcharge of more than ¥600 million for claiming one of its products could disinfect bacteria in the air. The Consumer Affairs Agency on Tuesday said that the company violated the Law against Unjustifiable Premiums and Misleading Representation in advertisements for Cleverin, its bacteria disinfectant product. The advertisements, which claim the product can eliminate bacteria and viruses floating in the air, are groundless, says the agency.

It asserts that the company has violated the law by misleading consumers into believing that Cleverin is better than it actually is.

The surcharge is the largest ever on record for a case based on that law.