TOKYO -- A major pharmacy chain in Japan and the family of a woman who died after taking medication dispensed at one of its stores reached a settlement at the Tokyo District Court on Nov. 22.

The bereaved family had sought some 40 million yen (about $258,000) in damages from Sugi Pharmacy, claiming that the woman from Tokyo, then aged 74, died because of error made when filling her prescription. Under the settlement, the drugstore chain will pay the same amount of compensation as sought by the plaintiffs and apologize.

According to the lawsuit, the woman became unconscious in November 2021 after taking medication dispensed by a Sugi Pharmacy store and was transported to the hospital with hypoglycemic encephalopathy, a brain dysfunction caused by low blood glucose levels, and died about five months later. A drug to lower blood sugar levels that had nothing to do with the victim's preexisting condition was allegedly mixed in when the medicine was prepared in small packets.

The lawyer representing the bereaved family explained that the settlement stipulates that Sugi Pharmacy as a corporation and three pharmacists involved in the dispensing process will apologize deeply over the fact that the woman became unconscious due to the error and died without even being able to say anything.

Although not included in the settlement clauses, Eiichi Sakakibara, chairperson of the pharmacy's parent company Sugi Holdings Co., also apparently intends to apologize directly to the bereaved family.

At a press conference held after the settlement was reached, the victim's eldest son said, "I hope Sugi Pharmacy will take this matter seriously and reflect on it." Sugi Holdings commented, "We will take thorough steps to prevent a recurrence."

(Japanese original by Ran Kanno, Tokyo City News Department)