Medical Equipment under Investment Regulation of Foreign Exchange Law

Japan : Infectious Disease Drug & Medical Equipment under Investment Regulation of Foreign Exchange Law

Against the backdrop of the spread of the new coronavirus infection, therapeutic drugs and medical devices for infectious diseases have been added under the Foreign Exchange Law to particularly important fields for national security. Restrictions on foreign investors investment in Japanese companies targeted in this area will be tightened. The Foreign Exchange Law requires foreign investors to notify the government in advance when a foreign investor invests above a certain level in a company that carries out a particularly important business for security such as nuclear power, communications, and weapons manufacturing.

The government has regulated industries that can be used for military purposes, but on the 15th, it added pharmaceuticals and medical devices to the particularly important industries. Prior registration is required when foreign investors acquire 1% or more of the shares of some Japanese companies that manufacture medical products such as infectious disease drugs and advanced medical devices such as ventilators.

The government is 23 days, in order to protect the Japanese companies responsible for drugs and medical equipment from foreign acquisitions, Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade. Several government officials have revealed. The government revised the Foreign Exchange Law in November last year. In March of this year, the government announced a draft notification that stipulates 12 fields such as weapons, space, cyber security, electric power, and railways as the “core industry” that imposes the strictest regulations regarding advance notification.

Source: https://bit.ly/37HxbRe