The average life expectancies of Japanese are 78.84 years for males and 85.59 years for females according to the 2004 summary life expectancy table: the record has been broken every year for 5 years for both male and female. The life expectancy for females is No. 1 for past 20 years in the world. In addition, in the “average healthy life expectancy” published by the WHO, Japan ranks No. 1 among the 192 countries which belong to the WHO, and this indicates that Japanese not only live longer but also live healthy.

A society where healthiness and longevity have been realized is an ideal society, but on the other hand, a low birth rate has been in progress, the ratio of the population of 65 years or older has been rapidly increasing in Japan, and it is expected that one out of 4 Japanese will be 65 years or older in 2015. That is, Japan is approaching an aging society.

At the same time, the number of old people who are experiencing a decrease in chondroitin with age and a joint pain is increasing. Especially, a knee joint pain is a symptom often observed among women of 50 years or older, and it has been said that one out of 4 women of 50 years or older and one out of 3 women of 60 years or older are experiencing a subjective symptom of knee pain.

In this manner, when the population ages, those with the symptom of a joint pain have rapidly increased.

The Japanese market for symptomatic pain killers for external use which temporarily suppress a pain of the joint is large, but in recent years, the market for chondroitin formulations for internal administration which radically cure a pain of the joint has been rapidly increasing. “Chondroitin ZS tablets” manufactured by Zeria Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. has a share of about 60 % in the market of chondroitin formulations. “Chondroitin ZS tablets” have been widely supported by old people due to the high quality and the large content of chondroitin.