Tokyo police arrest pharmacy manager over Mounjaro sales without prescriptions

Tokyo's Metropolitan Police Department arrested Wang Pei (王沛), 40, a Chinese national and manager of the First Beauty pharmacy, and one other person on suspicion of illegally selling prescription-only drugs, including the diabetes drug Mounjaro. Asahi Shimbun said the arrests were announced on the 22nd, under the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act. The police have not disclosed whether the two admit the allegations, according to Nippon TV and Asahi. [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]

Nippon TV named the second suspect as Satoshi Hatori (羽鳥聡), president of the company that runs the pharmacy. Asahi described the other person arrested as a 54-year-old Japanese man who is the representative director of the wholesaler Medix Japan (メディクスジャパン), which runs the pharmacy. Nippon TV and Asahi said the suspected sales were to four customers without prescriptions between January and June. [ 2 , 3 ]

TBS reported that the suspects are suspected of selling Mounjaro for about 13,000 yen in January to a 26-year-old woman from Kanagawa Prefecture, who bought it for dieting. Asahi quoted her as saying she had heard from a Chinese friend that Mounjaro could be bought without a prescription. Asahi said the sales in the arrest suspicion covered four types of drugs. [ 1 , 3 ]

Asahi, citing the police livelihood and environment division, said most customers were Chinese people, including visitors to Japan, and that the pharmacy sold at least about 70 types of prescription drugs. The pharmacy advertised Japanese drugs on Chinese social media and dealt with customers there on prices. It was paid by cashless methods and shipped to customers inside and outside Japan. Word spread among customers that drugs could be bought without a prescription. Nippon TV said the drugs were sold at higher than regular prices. [ 2 , 3 ]

Police believe the pharmacy took in about 65 million yen. TBS described the period as about two years, while Asahi said the pharmacy had earned more than 65 million yen since opening in October 2024 from selling to customers with no medical examination or prescription. Asahi added that a Japanese woman, 34, who served as the pharmacy's managing pharmacist, and a 26-year-old Chinese woman employee will soon be referred to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the same law. [ 1 , 3 ]

TBS noted that Mounjaro suppresses appetite and has repeatedly been used as a slimming drug rather than for its intended purpose, which has led to past shortages. Masahiro Fukuda (福田正博), a specialist of the Japan Diabetes Society, said there was a period when people who use it or newly need it could not get it, and that this could very well happen again. [ 1 ]