Amidst the concerns of aging population and burgeoning healthcare costs in a country which is basically dominated by branded drugs. The drug regulator of Japan, The Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency ( PMDA), is all set to open an office in India soon.
This move is expected to help Indian generic drug manufacturers, which have been seeking to increase their presence in Japan either through exports or by forging joint ventures with partners in that country. Japan's market, the second-largest in the world after the US, is worth $110 billion.
Japan wants to lower healthcare costs by encouraging generic drugs. It's looking to double the share of generics in its healthcare system to 60% by 2017-18 to ease the burden on public expenditure, translating into an attractive opportunity for Indian firms. 
A senior ministry official said that the Indian drug makers, who are known for their skills in producing efficacious and affordable copycat medicines, couldn't make much headway in the highly attractive but regulated Japanese market for decades.
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