Can I buy prescribed drug without prescription?

Is it possible to purchase prescribed medicine without a prescription in Japan? It doesn't seem to be available in general drugstores, but if I tell the pharmacist that I need to buy the prescribed medicine, would it be possible to purchase?

No.1 ベストアンサー 回答者： gooshou 回答日時： 2016/09/20 11:58

The "medical drugs" are classified as either "prescription medica

tion"which requires a prescription in order to purchase, or "others" which you can purcase without a prescription. However, medication categorized as "others" are not available in general drugsores either. So the medication which doctors prescribe after diagnose will not be available for purchase without a prescription. It is a complicated legal issue, so drugstores will not sell it to you even if you explain that there are "medical drugs" that do not require prescription. As an exception, there is a drug store in Hokkaido called "Kusuriya Kahon", and onlie site "Net General Hospital" and "Anshin Online Drug store" which handle "medical drugs" categorized as "others".