HEALTH authorities in Japan have enlisted the help of a superhero in the battle against antimicrobial resistance.
Characters from cult "anime" cartoon series Mobile Suit Gundam feature in a new campaign which aims to break long-held prescribing habits, as well as explain to demanding patients why it's not good to use antibiotics all the time.
The hero character, Amuro Ray (pictured below), has a catchphrase "Amuro ikimasu!" (meaning 'Amuro launching') which has morphed into "AMR taisaku ikimasu" ('AMR countermeasures are launching').
The new campaign follows a previous Japanese health promotion initiative where a robot from another anime series, Mazinger Z (pictured below), was used to highlight the importance of measles vaccination.
In that campaign the tag line became "Mashinga Zero" ('measles zero').
The advertising was devised by Hiroshi Naruse, who told the Japan Times that superheroes are "perfect metaphors for conquering mankind's greatest problems".
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 13 Oct 17
To see the full newsletter, see the embedded issue below or CLICK HERE to download Pharmacy Daily from 13 Oct 17
