[The law of patent medicine and the separation of drug dispensaries from medical practice].

On March 30, 1914, the law of patent medicine was enacted in Japanese, though it took three years for this to be accomplished. One reason why it took such a long time for enactment is because the doctors and drugstore owners raised strong objections to the law. They feared that pharmacists might try to take over all rights to sell drugs. The pharmacists, however, believed this law to be very important, making it possible for them not only to expand the business rights and the establishment of their status, but also to hold exclusive rights to the sales of drugs. On the other hand, doctors were very cautious about this law. They considered it to be a preliminary stage toward the enactment of the separation of drug dispensing by the medical practice. On March 19, 1914, Dr. Miyake former dean of the School of Medicine, University of Tokyo, and a member of the House of Lords, delivered his opinion on the "needlessness of pharmacists" by quoting European cases in the House of Lords, to members of the Special Committee of the Drug Trade Bill. He stated that a separation of the dispensary from the medical practice was a turning point in the field of medicine that should be reconsidered, and he tried to suppress the pharmacists' movements to pursue this issue. Probably Dr. Miyake was afraid that someone might submit a bill calling for dispensary separation. The proceedings of the Imperial Diet revealed a close relation between the law and the separation of dispensaries.