Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga

I would like to give an overview of the Cabinet meeting. The meeting approved four general and other measures for submission as well as the promulgation of a treaty, a cabinet order, and a personnel decision. With regard to statements by ministers, the Minister for Foreign Affairs made a statement concerning the signing of the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement.

Today a meeting of the Council for Promoting Measures to Prevent Drug Abuse was held. There has recently been a spate of incidents and accidents involving abusers of so-called “quasi-legal drugs,” which the Government considers to be a serious social issue. In view of this situation today the Prime Minister has issued instructions concerning measures to deal with so-called “quasi-legal drugs,” consisting of the following three points: (1) Thoroughly clarify the situation regarding the sale and distribution of such substances and strengthen awareness-raising measures to convey their dangers; (2) Swiftly designate substances as scheduled drugs utilizing information available overseas and crack down severely on crimes that are caused by such substances; and (3) Implement a review about the requirements for regulation of “quasi-legal drugs” from a basic stance of doing everything possible to counter the spread of new drug abuse. In the meeting today it was confirmed that based on the Prime Minister’s instructions all ministries and agencies concerned will work together to properly examine this issue and construct thorough measures swiftly in order to eliminate incidents and accidents such as those that have occurred recently. Furthermore, in order to ensure that the public understands that these so-called “quasi-legal drugs” are in fact highly dangerous, the Government is currently seeking proposals on a new name for such substances. On the other hand, there have been cases in the media in which these substances have been referred to as “quasi-legal herbs,” a name that risks causing public confusion. The Government would like to request that media organizations make efforts to ensure that public recognition about the dangers of these herbs becomes better established. For details please direct your questions to Minister Mori.

Q&As

• The Council for Promoting Measures to Present Drug Abuse

REPORTER: I have a question relating to the meeting of the Council for Promoting Measures to Prevent Drug Abuse and the third of the Prime Minister’s instructions concerning considerations on revising the requirements for regulation of quasi-legal drugs. Does this third instruction mean that the Government is specifically moving towards making criteria for legal charges relating to quasi-legal herbs more severe?

CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY SUGA: Firstly, with regard to regulation of quasi-legal drugs, we will implement designations in a comprehensive manner. The Pharmaceutical Affairs Acts has been amended and the designation of substances as scheduled drugs has been broadly increased. Furthermore, from April this year the possession and use of scheduled drugs became subject to penal regulations. Despite this, there are ever more drugs appearing, which creates a situation that could be said to be like a cat-and-mouse game. We need to do something to deal with the spread of abuse of such new drugs, for example by considering methods to crack down on drugs that are not classifiable as scheduled drugs. The Government’s intention is for all ministries and agencies concerned to engage in considerations from a basic stance of doing everything that can possibly be done. Whatever the case, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the National Police Agency are currently reviewing the terminology of “quasi-legal drugs” from the perspective of promoting understanding among the public that these substances are highly dangerous. In that sense ministries and agencies concerned are to engage in considerations from a basic stance of doing everything that can possibly be done.

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