Sawt Falasteen - Bosses resign at Japan health supplement firm probing deaths

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical is at the centre of a health scare linked to its over-the-counter tablets containing red yeast rice, which is fermented with a mould culture.

The company's board released a damning external report on Tuesday that said the firm had failed to prioritise consumer safety and acted with an "insufficient sense of urgency".

Red yeast rice or "beni koji" has been used in food, alcoholic drinks and folk medicine for centuries around East Asia.

Medical studies say it can improve cholesterol levels but also warn of a risk of organ damage depending on the ingredient's chemical make-up.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical said president Akihiro Kobayashi and chairman Kazumasa Kobayashi were leaving their posts. Both men belong to the firm's founding family.

The decision was made "to clarify executive responsibility over a series of actions by our company related to the 'beni koji' issue", it said in a statement.

The scandal erupted in March when the company, a household name in Japan, recalled three brands of dietary supplements after customers complained of kidney problems.

It later said it had detected a potentially toxic acid produced by the mould at one of its factories, and the government inspected the firm's facilities.

- Damning report -

Then last month, the company said it was probing a total of 80 deaths possibly connected to its pills, and investigating whether organs other than kidneys were harmed.

At the time the government called Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's delay in reporting the number of cases under investigation "extremely regrettable".

The report by a team of external lawyers released on Tuesday also criticised the firm's handling of the matter.

It said that in mid-January and early February, the company began to receive reports of kidney problems from doctors.

"Kobayashi Pharmaceutical had never before received multiple reports of serious cases from doctors in such a short period of time," the report said.

"Despite this, the company did not immediately consider disclosure to consumers, acting with an insufficient sense of urgency."

The company should have recalled the products right away and reported the incident, but it only decided to do so after conducting internal probes, the lawyers alleged.

Kobayashi Pharmaceutical's new president is Satoshi Yamane, previously head of sustainability policy, the company said.

Outgoing president Akihiro Kobayashi, who has expressed his intention to take responsibility for any harm caused, will remain in an executive role to manage compensation-related matters, it added.

X.Habash--SF-PST