Fentanyl tablets (from the website of the US Drug Enforcement Administration)
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The fentanyl crisis, driven by a powerful synthetic opioid behind a surge in overdose deaths in the United States, is now raising concerns in Japan.
Fentanyl, a drug legitimately used by doctors in painkillers to treat severe cancer pain, is being illicitly manufactured and trafficked. That, in turn, has caused a dramatic increase in the number of people addicted to it in the US.
Fentanyl is by far the most powerful and addictive of all narcotics. And there has been an overwhelming number of cases of people dying as a result of overdosing on it while trying to experience euphoric feelings.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has announced that "at least 48,000 people died from the drug last year (2024)." Without a question, the fentanyl crisis has become a serious social problem for America.
The Fentanyl Trail
American authorities also charge that clandestinely produced raw chemicals used to manufacture fentanyl are being exported from China to Mexico or Canada. They are then refined in those intermediate countries before flowing illicitly into the US.
On roads or in parks in towns and cities throughout the US, you can often see the strange sight of people with their heads bowed or bodies curled up with their knees bent. Called "fentanyl fold" or "fenty lean," this is a typical posture of fentanyl addicts. Such individuals are often unable to respond or move, sometimes for hours.
Surreptitiously manufactured fentanyl is totally different from fentanyl for medical use, which is subject to quality control.
Instead, illicit drug dealers regularly cut the drug with powerful painkillers used for animals and other impure substances. Ingesting such mixtures can induce physical necrosis (death of body tissue) and even result in death. In fact, tens of thousands of Americans die yearly from fentanyl overdoses.
Because it is easy to buy and sell, fentanyl can be widely distributed, earning it a reputation as the most lethal opioid.
Warning Signs for Japan
In 2022, two cases of misusing prescribed fentanyl for non-medical purposes were uncovered in Japan. At that time, there was no evidence of illicitly produced fentanyl in the country.
However, that may change at any time. We should be aware of the danger that criminal groups could start bringing the drug into Japan. Police must work in cooperation with the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, as well as other government agencies responsible for drug supervision, to implement thorough border control measures that prevent drugs from entering our shores. They must also closely coordinate the exchange of information with international organizations.
A Geopolitical Tangle
US President Donald Trump has linked the fentanyl crisis to high tariffs. Specifically, he has imposed additional tariffs on China, Canada, and Mexico in the name of "fentanyl countermeasures." China has resisted, and that is one of the reasons why US-China relations have deteriorated.
Against this background, on June 26, US Ambassador to Japan George Glass released a tweet on X about fentanyl transiting through Japan. It closely tracked a June 25 news report that a Chinese organization is suspected of having set up a base in Japan for smuggling precursor chemicals to make fentanyl. According to the report, America was the drugs' ultimate destination.
As of this time, the Japanese police have not verified the contents of the reports. However, we cannot dismiss concerns that Japan may become entangled in the US-China fentanyl confrontation. The Japanese government must strengthen its oversight and tracking of related pharmaceuticals. Tokyo must demonstrate that smuggling illicit drugs or materials for making fentanyl will not be tolerated.
Protecting the public from the threat of illicit fentanyl must be the top priority. What's happening in the US is not a distant crisis. It's one Japan must take seriously as its own.
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Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun
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