Japan’s experienced a spike in recent years of young people – particularly teen girls – overdosing on prescription or over-the-counter meds. To counter this, Japan’s government released a new PR campaign that’s been panned for its whimsical attitude – and for giving people advice they’ve almost certainly tried.
According to a report in 2023 from Asahi Shimbun, overdose cases have been rising steadily, primarily amongst people in their 10s and 20s. 2023 saw a 1.5x spike in overdose cases among those 10 to 19 years old and a 1.2x increase in those in their 20s. 75% of those were young girls. In 2022, Japan saw 1,494 cases of overdose in those ages 10 to 19 – a full 47% spike over 2020.
The medications used vary. Japan’s strict laws around controlled substances can make them hard to obtain for many people. As a result, some will attempt to overdose on prescription medications. Others abuse use over-the-counter cold medicines. These include medications such as Bron, which legally contain a small amount of dihydrocodeine, or Mejikon, which contains dextromethorphan. OTC drug abuse is especially common among homeless youth, such as the “Toyoko Kids” who call the Toyoko area of Tokyo’s Kabukicho their home.
To combat this, Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) released a new 30-second video spot via the government’s official press account on X, @gov_online. In it, animated sheep urge young people, “When times feel tough, don’t OD (overdose) – SD (相談; soudan, talk to someone) instead!”
We originally had the X post embedded below. Since then, @gov_online has deleted it. The page from the MHLW (originally at https://www.gov-online.go.jp/media/commercials/202503/video-294268.html) that showed the commercial has been deleted as well.
A road already traveled
The spot is reminiscent of some of my own country (America’s) cheesiest anti-drug spots from the 1980s, such as “You, alright?! I learned it by watching you!” It also hearkens back to Wakayama Prefecture’s sad attempt at an anti-marijuana manga that resembles a Chick tract.
A spokesperson for the MHLW interviewed by Josei Jishin said that it wanted to get more people to engage with the Ministry’s page dedicated to overdose issues, which includes options for people to get support.
That message, however, appears to have fallen flat. The @gov_online X account, despite having 257K followers, typically gets low interaction on its posts. This one, however, got ratioed, with 1,050 likes and over 2,700 retweets. Most comments were disparaging, noting that most people who OD have tried talking to someone.
“Not to knock the ad but I think most people struggling mentally and their families have already tried talking to someone or getting treatment. They’re just finding solace in the OD that occurs after that,” one wrote.
“Many feel even more despondent after talking to someone,” another wrote.
In general, mental health is stigmatized in Japan, and support options are very poor. Rather than investing in advertising, Japan’s government should perhaps instead consider funding to increase the pool of knowledgeable mental health professionals, or adding better financial support for mental health to the country’s national health insurance program. Telling potential victims to use a path they’ve already exhausted isn’t gonna solve anything.
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