Kobayashi Pharmaceutical: 2024 red yeast rice supplement harm, recall, resignations and governance fight
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical: 2024 red yeast rice supplement harm, recall, resignations and governance fight: a public-record watch file compiled by Falling Shares Intelligence from filings and exchange disclosures, as of 2026-11-09. On 22 March 2024 Kobayashi recalled red yeast rice (beni-koji) supplements after reports of kidney problems; authorities ordered the recall of three products days later.
From the March 2024 recall of beni-koji supplements after kidney illnesses and deaths to the ministry's cause finding, the July 2024 resignations and a shareholder suit still pending.
Falling Shares Intelligence, Edited by Wung Thomas, Editor-in-Chief. As of .
Summary
- On 22 March 2024 Kobayashi recalled red yeast rice (beni-koji) supplements after reports of kidney problems; authorities ordered the recall of three products days later.
- The health ministry concluded in September 2024 that puberulic acid, produced by blue mould contaminating the factory, caused the kidney dysfunction.
- An external panel found the company lacked urgency, the president and chairman resigned in July 2024, and a top shareholder's derivative suit against directors is pending.
Key figures
| Deaths under investigation | 80 (As reported at the time of the July 2024 resignations) |
|---|---|
| Ministry cause finding | 18 Sep 2024 (Puberulic acid identified as cause of kidney dysfunction) |
| Derivative suit claim | JPY 13.5bn (Claimed by shareholder Oasis on the company's behalf) |
Recall, orders and inspections
Company asks users to stop and recalls products
Kobayashi issued a press release asking people to stop using its red yeast rice products and announcing a voluntary recall. It said it had received reports of kidney problems and had found an unintended component in some red yeast rice. (22 Mar 2024)
Health ministry request and Osaka city recall order
At the health ministry's request, Osaka city applied a Food Sanitation Act violation to three products and ordered their recall and disposal. Reports at the time put the toll at two deaths and 106 hospitalisations. (26-27 Mar 2024)
Factories inspected
The health ministry and Osaka city inspected the company's Osaka factory under the food sanitation law on 30 March, and a Wakayama plant was inspected the next day. (30-31 Mar 2024)
Cause finding, resignations and governance
Ministry identifies puberulic acid as the cause
The health ministry and the National Institute of Health Sciences found in May that puberulic acid was produced by a blue mould that contaminated fermentation. On 18 September the ministry concluded that puberulic acid caused kidney dysfunction, while two other compounds the mould created were not found causal. Animal tests showed kidney damage from puberulic acid alone. (28 May and 18 Sep 2024)
External panel report and resignations
A three-lawyer panel set up by the board in April 2024 found the company had failed to prioritise consumer safety and acted with insufficient urgency, after it received reports of kidney problems from doctors in January and February. The same day the president and the chairman resigned, with the president remaining a director to focus on compensation; the first non-family chief executive followed. The company was probing about 80 deaths. (23 Jul 2024)
Case counts closed and final municipal report
The health ministry stopped updating case counts after 17 March 2025, and Osaka city published its final report on the cases on 19 March 2025. (Mar 2025)
Shareholder derivative suit against directors
Oasis Management, the company's second-largest shareholder, filed a derivative suit in the Osaka District Court seeking at least JPY 13.5bn on the company's behalf from directors over the beni-koji matter. It announced that court proceedings had begun in October 2025. (Oct 2025)
Scope limits and shareholder vote
Raw-material customers report no affected products
The ministry asked 52 companies that bought beni-koji raw material from Kobayashi, and 173 that obtained it indirectly, to self-inspect. None reported affected products. (5 Apr 2024)
Company rejects shareholder reform proposals
At the March 2026 shareholder meeting Kobayashi rejected management reform proposals from Oasis, which holds about 13.7% of the shares. The president said the company would give priority to apologies and compensation and to preventing a recurrence. (27 Mar 2026)
Standard
This file compiles health ministry and municipal records, company statements, shareholder filings and published reporting about Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.. Allegations are attributed to those who made them. An investigation is not a charge, a charge is not a finding, and nothing here is a finding of wrongdoing unless a competent authority has made one. The company has apologised, recalled the products and committed to compensation, and the shareholder claims against its directors are unproven and pending. Individuals are not named unless an official document names them and they are central; otherwise roles are used. This is news coverage for information only, not investment advice.
Right of reply
Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., and anyone named in a record cited here, can send corrections or comments to info@fallingshares.com (or directly to the Editor-in-Chief, Wung Thomas, at wungthomas@fallingshares.com). Material responses will be published alongside the relevant entry.