Japan has for the first time approved over-the-counter sales of an emergency contraceptive pill, its manufacturer says, allowing women in the country to take the medication without prescription. ASKA Pharmaceutical said wider access to the pill would “empower Japanese women in the area of reproductive health”.
A date for it to go on sale had yet to be announced when this article was published.
The pill will be labelled as “medicine requiring guidance”, meaning women must take it in the presence of a pharmacist.
SOURCE: BBC News, by Jaroslav Lukiv, 20 October 2025. Image: AFP via Getty Images.