The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will inspect stores suspected of selling quasi-legal narcotics as early as this week, officials said Wednesday, a day after the Cabinet pledged a crackdown on so-called "dappo" (law-evading) drugs.
The inspections of about 70 shops will be conducted jointly with the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the Metropolitan Police Department. If inspectors find dappo drugs, the metropolitan government will issue an order to remove them from view and from sale, the officials said.
As of Wednesday, the Tokyo government had identified 68 stores selling the drugs, which are usually a mix of dried herbs and synthetic stimulants whose chemical structure differs slightly from compounds prohibited by law.