The country's first over-the-counter sleeping pills hit shelves Thursday, with their maker forecasting that the drug could meet its original sales target for the year within the first month.
Yet it remains to be seen whether the drug, aimed at countering sleeping disorders, will become a long-term fixture within the medicine cabinets of Japanese households.
SSP Co. said it has received a huge number of drugstore orders for Drewell since its unveiling in mid-March. Shipments of Drewell are expected to amount to 600 million yen by the end of April, when it will be available at 40,000 drugstores.