Tag - drugs

 
 

DRUGS

The main office of Nihon University in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Dec 1, 2023
Nihon University football player admits to drug charges
The trial was concluded the same day, with the prosecution seeking an 18-month imprisonment and the defense asking for a suspended sentence.
The Nihon University American football team's field in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward on Wednesday
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2023
Nihon University to disband American football club over drug scandal
The decision brings an end to the 83-year history of one of the nation’s most prominent college football teams.
Nihon University Vice President Yasuhiro Sawada (right) has sued Mariko Hayashi, the university's chairperson, over power harassment claims.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 27, 2023
Nihon University vice president sues chairperson over power harassment
Yasuhiro Sawada has claimed Mariko Hayashi used her superiority to paint him as being solely responsible for the mishandling of a drug scandal.
Police leave the dormitory of Nihon University's American football team in Tokyo after finishing the search in August.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 23, 2023
Nihon University recommends resignations over cannabis scandal
In August, a member of the football club was arrested for alleged possession of cannabis and an illegal stimulant.
Cough medicine seized by police in connection with the case of unauthorized sales of the drug in the Toyoko area of Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 22, 2023
4 youths nabbed for unauthorized cough medicine sales
Reports indicate that more young people in Japan are overdosing on over-the-counter drugs such as cold pills and cough medicine.
The health ministry's drug enforcement officials investigate a retailer in the city of Osaka on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 21, 2023
Japan to ban marijuana-derived substance found in gummy candies
An expert panel at the health ministry decided to officially add the HHCH synthetic compound to a drug list, with the ban taking effect from Dec. 2.
The health ministry in Tokyo
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 20, 2023
Japan eyes banning cannabinoid HHCH after gummies make many ill
Once HHCH is designated as a psychoactive drug, its possession, use and distribution will be illegal.
At least nine people have been taken ill in Tokyo recently after ingesting gummies allegedly containing substances derived from cannabis.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 15, 2023
Cannabis-derived gummies probed in Tokyo after people fall ill
Five people aged from their teens to their 50s were taken ill on Nov. 4 after eating the gummies, which were handed out by a man during a festival.
Smuggled cannabis resin, which had been hidden inside ethnic Indian musical instruments, alongside the instruments in which they were hidden, at a police station in Fukuoka Prefecture in 2012.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 14, 2023
Bill to legalize cannabis-derived drugs clears Japan’s Lower House
The bill was sent to the Upper House the same day. If approved there, changes stipulated in the bill will likely go into effect by the end of next year.
The Nihon University football club dormitory in Tokyo
JAPAN / Society
Oct 31, 2023
Nihon University staff downplayed drug use problem, report says
The report shows how the university’s system of governance led to the delay in taking action against the American football team’s culture of drug use.
Yasuhiro Sawada, vice president of Nihon University, speaks during an interview in Tokyo on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 26, 2023
University official 'sad' about calls to quit over drug scandal
Two members of the football club have been arrested in the scandal so far — one in August and the other in October.
The Nihon University football club dormitory in Tokyo
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2023
Drug scandal at Nihon University American football club seen spreading
The university suspended the football club's activities indefinitely in August following the arrest of one person the same month over cannabis.
The Nihon University football club dormitory on Monday in Tokyo
JAPAN
Oct 19, 2023
Nihon University vice president urged to quit over drug scandal
Members of Nihon University's executive team have urged the vice president of the school to quit over the handling of a drug scandal at its football club.
A 46-year-old priest was arrested Thursday for possessing marijuana at his home in Sammu, Chiba Prefecture, according to an NHK report.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 19, 2023
Chiba priest arrested for marijuana possession: NHK
Police arrested the priest at Rengeji Temple for possessing dried marijuana at his home.
A meeting to discuss how to prevent the use of kiken drugs (hazardous drugs), is held at the health ministry on Friday.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 29, 2023
As drug use rises in Japan, government eyes prevention plans
The ministry reported that by the end of August, around 300 stores in the country were found to be selling quasi-legal products known as “kiken drugs.”
Leaves of marijuana plants from which hemp fibers are extracted at Japan's largest legal marijuana farm in Kanuma, Tochigi Prefecture, on July 5, 2016
PODCAST / deep dive
Sep 21, 2023
Does a university cannabis scandal point to a larger trend?
A drugs scandal at Japan’s biggest university draws attention to a troubling statistic: Cannabis use among young people is on the rise.
Mariko Takeuchi leaves a court in Kuala Lumpur in October 2011 after being sentenced to death.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 15, 2023
Japanese woman on death row in Malaysia to appeal for leniency
Mariko Takeuchi was sentenced to hang for trafficking 3.5 kilograms of methamphetamine into Malaysia in 2009.
A woman shops for medicine at a drugstore in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Sep 5, 2023
More young women overdosing on over-the-counter drugs
In a country where illicit drugs are hard to obtain, many have begun to abuse cough and cold medications, which are legal and easily accessible.
Products seized in July from a store selling items related to e-cigarettes during a search by narcotics control department investigators
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 4, 2023
Japan to up response to quasi-legal drugs amid rising health fears
Some of the products, which include a partially-altered form of cannabis, have reportedly been confirmed to be more harmful than cannabis itself.
Tokyo Metropolitan Police investigators raid the dormitory of the Nihon University football team in Tokyo's Nakano Ward on Aug. 22.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Sep 2, 2023
Nihon University suspends football team over cannabis allegations
Tokyo police searched the team's dormitory on Aug. 22, after more players were suspected of possessing cannabis, investigative sources said.

Longform

Historically, kabuki was considered the entertainment of the merchant and peasant classes, a far cry from how it is regarded today.
For Japan's oldest kabuki theater, the show must go on