The National Science Foundation's Tokyo Regional Office periodically
reports on developments in Japan that are related to the Foundation's mission.
It also provides occasional reports on developments in other East Asian
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the use of NSF program officers and policy makers; they are not statements of
NSF policy.
This report consists of the official English language summary of a law enacted by the Diet on November 30, 2000.
A. Purpose of the Law
The Purpose of the Law is to harmonize the development of science and technology with society and the way of life by:
prohibiting the transfer of embryos made by the techniques of human cloning, hybrid, and chimera into the uterus of a woman or an animal; and
taking measures to ensure the proper handling of embryos made by the techniques of human cloning, hybrid, and chimera, and other similar techniques.
This is based upon the recognition of urgent needs to prevent
creation of human beings who are genetically identical to specific individuals already born;
creation of living entities whose human status is difficult or impossible to determine;
threats to the dignity of humans, the safety of individuals, and the social order.
B. Contents of the Law
1. The Law prohibits the transfer of the following embryos into the uterus of a woman or an animal:
a human embryo made by means of the replacement of the cell nucleus of a human egg with that of a human somatic or fetal cell,
an embryo made by means of fertilization between human and animal gametes;
an embryo made by means of replacement of the cell nucleus of an animal egg with that of a human cell; and
an embryo made by means of the aggregation of a human embryo and. an embryo or cells of an animal.
2. The Government must take measures to ensure the proper handling of the following embryos and those referred to in 1, above (these embryos should be called “Specified Embryos”):
a human embryo made by means of replacement of the cell nucleus of a human egg with that of a human embryonic cell;
a human embryo made by means of separation of human blastomeres or of the splitting of a human embryo;
an embryo made by means of replacement of the cell nucleus of a human egg with that of an animal cell;
an embryo made by means of the aggregation of an animal embryo and human cells; and
an embryo made by means of the aggregation of a human embryo and another human embryo or cells.
3. The main measures listed on the Law are:
to establish Guidelines concerning the handling of “Specified Embryos” in consultation with the Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office;
to oblige researchers who intend to handle “Specified Embryos” to notify the Government of their plan, to oblige them to suspend handling for up to 60 days after their notification, and to oblige them to notify the Government of the disposal of “Specified Embryos”;
to require researchers to modify their plan, including termination, when it does not meet the Guidelines; and
to require the researchers to submit a report about the handling, and to enable on-the-spot investigations of their laboratories by the Government.
4. Penalty
1) Any person who violates this Law's prohibition by transferring certain embryos to the uterus should be imprisoned no longer than 10 years and/or be fined no more than 10 million yen.
2) Any person who does not notify the Government of his plan or violates the order from the Government concerning the handling of Specific Embryos should be imprisoned no longer than 1 year or fined no more than 1 million yen.
3) Any person who violates the suspension requirement after submission of the plan should be imprisoned no longer than six months or fined no more than 500,000 yen.
C. Notes
According to the reports of the Bioethics Committee of the Council for Science and Technology, the Guidelines specified in this Law should include:
prohibition of the transfer of all “Specified Embryos” into a uterus of a woman or an animal; and
prohibition of the creation of “Specified Embryos”, with certain exceptions which are regarded as indispensable to important medical or basic research.
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