OTC Sales of Morning-After Pill to All Women Eyed; Draft Proposal Would Remove Need for Guardian’s Consent

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:41 JST, August 28, 2025

A draft proposal to allow all women to purchase emergency contraceptives over the counter without consent from a guardian has been submitted to a subcommittee of the Liberal Democratic Party by the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.

Whether to make over-the-counter morning-after pills fully available to prevent unwanted pregnancies will be deliberated Friday — based on the proposal — by an expert panel of the ministry, with an eye to the pills’ commercial distribution.

In response to growing calls for the drugs to be available over-the-counter, they have been sold at some pharmacies since 2023 as part of a research study commissioned by the ministry and conducted by the Japan Pharmaceutical Association. Before that, such drugs were not available in Japan without a doctor’s prescription.

The pill is available to women aged 16 and over, although those aged 16 and 17 are required to be accompanied by a guardian.

Under the proposal, age and other restrictions for purchasing the drugs over-the-counter will be removed. It also mandates that pharmacists sell the drugs face-to-face and requires those who buy them to take the drugs on the spot.