OBJECTIVES:

Drug resistance is one of the major problems across the world. To address this, Japanese government has been promoting development of new antibiotics. This is a comparative study between European Union countries and Japan on antibiotics policy and its impact in the recent years.

METHODS:

Governmental reports, Chuikyo (Central Social Insurance Medical Council) documents (JAPAN), and policy papers were reviewed along with a literature review and web browsing. The collected information were summarized and analysed in comparison to the European Union countries.

RESULTS:

Drug resistance has become a prominent issue in Japan since late 1980. To combat this, Japanese government introduced measures to promote the development of new antibiotics in 2010 and the optimal use guidance of antibiotics in 2016. Of the 18 antibiotics that were launched in Japan in the past 10 years (2010-2019), 16 were launched after the new government measures. However, despite the aggressive government policies, the number of antibiotics launched remained lower compared to other EU countries.

CONCLUSIONS:

The development of new antibiotics is promoted across the world to combat drug resistance and to help people from infectious diseases at an early stage. Despite the aggressive measures taken by the Japanese government, number of launched antibiotics remained low compared to other EU countries, reflecting the medical drug lag that still exists in Japan. While reducing drug resistance by reinforcing appropriate use of existing and future antibiotics is equally important, there is an urgent need for the Japanese government and pharmaceutical industry to work together to develop effective new antibiotics.