Japan's Taiko Pharmaceutical Fined Record $4.5Mln For Advertising Violations - Agency

The Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency said on Tuesday that it had fined Japanese company Taiko Pharmaceutical more than 600 million yen ($4.5 million) for misleading advertising for its antibacterial products

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th April, 2023) The Japanese Consumer Affairs Agency said on Tuesday that it had fined Japanese company Taiko Pharmaceutical more than 600 million Yen ($4.5 million) for misleading advertising for its antibacterial products.

The company said in its official advertisement that the Cleverin disinfectant was "99.9% effective."

"Taiko Pharmaceutical was asked to submit materials demonstrating rational grounds for product labeling, and the company submitted materials. However, none of them provided sufficient evidence to support the (promotional) claims," the agency said in a statement.

As a result, the company was fined 607,440 million yen, the statement read. The fine must be paid by November 13.

This is the highest fine ever imposed under Japanese law on unreasonable promotions and misleading statements, the NHK broadcaster reported.

At the same time, Taiko Pharmaceutical stated that it had resumed the sale of the products after editing the product information so that it does not violate the law. In addition, the company will strengthen its advertising verification system to prevent such situations from happening again.