Woman Arrested for Selling Unapproved Sleeping Pills to Toyoko Girls
TOKYO –
A 41-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of selling sleeping pills not approved for use in Japan to girls who frequent the “Toyoko” area of Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district, allegedly promoting the drugs on social media as a way to experience an intense high through excessive consumption.
The suspect, Nobue Ochiai, 41, is accused of importing the unapproved sleeping medication from overseas and selling it without authorization to three girls on nine occasions between approximately December 2025 and January 2026.
Investigators believe Ochiai repeatedly targeted girls who gather in the Toyoko area, advertising the pills on social media with messages such as “Take a lot and you’ll get completely high.”
The Toyoko area, located around the Toho Building in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district, has become a gathering place for young people, including teenage girls, some of whom reportedly purchase sleeping pills and other medications through social media for the purpose of overdosing.
The practice, commonly known as “overdosing,” involves consuming excessive quantities of medication, often with the intention of experiencing altered states of consciousness.
According to investigators, Ochiai admitted to the allegations, saying, “I started selling the drugs because I wanted to quickly deliver medication to people who were looking for it.”
Police believe the suspect repeatedly supplied the unapproved sleeping pills to girls frequenting the area, where the misuse of medication has become a concern.
Source: FNN
