Nobuyuki Fukumoto , well known for Tobaku Mokushiroku Kaiji ( Gambling Apocalypse Kaiji ) and Akagi manga, was recently tagged by Japan's Office of Public Relations to create a manga detailing the horrors of drug addiction. The manga is titled "Gōhō to Itte Ura Rete Iru Yakubutsu no Hontō no Kowa-sa o Shitte Imasu Ka?" ("Do you know the Real Terror of the So-Called Legal Drugs that are Sold?) and is part of a campaign to stem to usage of "so-called legal herbs," or in other words drugs that evade Japan's strict anti-drug laws, among Japanese youth. While the manga was written by Fukumoto, the German National Neurology and Psychiatry Research Center and the National Institute of Mental Health-Dependent Drug research chief Masahiko Funata supervised the project.

Following is the first page of the manga. The story centers on the downfall of Masaru-kun as he buys an "herb," becomes addicted to it, and suffers the consequences.

The rest of the pages can be viewed on the Japan's official Office of Public Relations website.

This is not the first time the Japanese government has turn to manga as a means to educate the Japanese public. In 2004, government's annual defense white paper was released in manga format with the hope of reaching out the Japanese youth in their 20s and 30s.

Source: Yaraon