AskYOKO FAQ

You can ask about topics related to self-medication, such as how to choose and use over-the-counter medicines, drug interactions, concerns about side effects, medicines for travel, and guidance on when to see a doctor.

No. AskYOKO is a service where you can consult with a pharmacist. It does not provide medical examinations, diagnoses, treatments, or prescriptions by a physician.

We cannot provide diagnoses or issue prescriptions. Based on your consultation, a pharmacist will advise you on the use of over-the-counter medicines or when to visit a healthcare facility.

Yes. The service is available to those staying abroad. However, since the availability of medicines and healthcare systems vary by country and region, the scope of answers may be limited.

You can submit your consultation at any time. However, pharmacist responses are not provided in real time around the clock.

It depends on the content of your consultation and the time it is received. Responses may take longer during nighttime, early morning, holidays, or for inquiries that require additional verification.

In principle, our pharmacists operate on Japan Standard Time. If you are using the service from overseas, responses may arrive the following day or later due to the time difference.

AskYOKO is not an emergency response service. If you experience symptoms such as loss of consciousness, difficulty breathing, severe chest pain, seizures, or heavy bleeding, do not wait for a response — contact emergency services or a medical facility in your area immediately.

Yes. For inquiries that require diagnosis or treatment, lack sufficient information, or require specialized testing, we may refrain from answering and instead advise you to visit a healthcare facility.

Yes. You may consult about children, elderly family members, and other relatives.

To provide a safe response, we may ask for information such as the person's age, sex, weight, symptoms, pre-existing conditions, allergies, and current medications.

Yes. However, depending on the content of the consultation, we may ask for the person's consent or request additional information directly from them.

One ticket is used per consultation topic. Consultations about different individuals or different symptoms/medications are, in principle, treated as separate topics and each requires a new ticket.

One ticket is used per consultation topic.

No additional tickets are needed for follow-up exchanges required to answer the same consultation topic.

If the topic shifts to a different medicine, symptom, or person, a new ticket will be required.

The monthly plan includes 5 tickets per month.

No. Tickets included in the monthly plan are valid for the current month only and cannot be carried over.

Yes. Individually purchased tickets are valid for 90 days from the date of purchase.

Yes. The monthly plan renews automatically until you cancel it yourself.

Yes. To provide a safe response, a pharmacist may ask you to send images such as medicine packaging, ingredient labels, medicine bags, your medication record booklet, or the affected area of your body.

Depending on the content of your consultation, we may ask for a video call to verify symptoms or how a medicine is being used.

Yes. For consultations from overseas or when directing you to a nearby healthcare facility, we may ask you to share your country/region or location information.