A government panel has given conditional approval to swine flu vaccines made by British and Swiss companies, paving the way for sales in Japan.
A working group from the health ministry's drug and food hygiene advisory panel determined Saturday that the medicine should pose no problems as long as the results of the foreign companies' clinical tests are reported promptly, ministry officials said.
Sales could begin as early as February.
Japan has concluded contracts to import enough H1N1 vaccine to treat 7.4 million people from GlaxoSmithKline of Britain and 2.5 million people from Novartis of Switzerland.
Based on results of clinical tests the two drug makers conducted in Japan, the working group decided that the products meet international standards for safety and effectiveness, the officials said.