COMMENTARY

Honebuto 2025 Approved - The Real Battle for Pharma Lies Ahead

By Ken Yoshino June 23, 2025
Japan’s Cabinet approved the 2025 Basic Policy on Economic and Fiscal Management and Reform, commonly known as honebuto, on June 13. The policy direction, which serves as the government’s blueprint for the FY2026 budget, includes language suggesting a shift in…

To read the full story

COMMENTARY

By Philip Carrigan

Let’s be real: even with the best intentions, AI systems can reflect our own unconscious biases. As Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky famously demonstrated in their groundbreaking work on Prospect Theory, humans are prone to cognitive biases that influence our…

By Ken Yoshino

As Japan approaches the Fiscal System Council’s “autumn recommendation,” a notable shift is taking shape. The Ministry of Finance (MOF),…

Japan is considering a new approach to its “special” market expansion re-pricing that would exclude drug sales tied to private…

Japan’s Central Social Insurance Medical Council (Chuikyo) on November 5 approved the reimbursement listing for a slate of new medicines,…

By Ken Yoshino

The Japanese government on March 7 announced new NHI prices to be applied in the FY2025 drug price revision, revealing…

The Japanese government approved a bill to amend the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices (PMD) Act at its Cabinet meeting on…

Japan’s health ministry doled out regulatory approvals for a throng of new medicines on December 27 including Eli Lilly’s obesity…

Japan’s all-important reimbursement policy panel on December 20 approved an outline of drug pricing reforms for FY2024, which enshrines a…