With approval for GM papaya thought to be not far off, the National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) purchased samples of raw papaya fruit and papaya seedlings in Okinawa Prefecture in early December 2010 in order to establish a testing method. MAFF announced on 22 February 2011 that having performed trial analyses on these samples it was found that GM genes were detected in one of the eight samples.

Since it was found that the GM genes contained DNA in common with a GM papaya now in the process of research in Taiwan, it is thought that there is a strong possibility that a Taiwanese GM papaya was mixed in with the purchased samples.

This GM papaya has a trait for resistance to the virus that causes the papaya ringspot disease. Similar papayas are already being cultivated in Hawaii and these Hawaiian papayas have also previously been distributed on the Japanese market.

Papayas grown in Japan are mainly varieties that have been multiplied as cuttings from seedlings propagated by tissue culture at the tropical crop section of Miyazaki Agricultural Institute. However, seeds and seedlings are imported from countries including Taiwan and Thailand, the largest exporter to Japan being Taiwan. Further, although much imported papaya fruit is from the Philippines, roughly 15 tons are imported annually from Taiwan, a 0.5% share of the market.

Following the announcement on 22 February, GM papaya was found in papaya tea produced by Miyazaki Shokken (Miyazaki Food Research Co., Ltd.) on 23 February and a recall order was issued. According to an investigation by the Miyazaki City Public Health Department, the papaya tea had been produced two years previously.

The Current State of Cloned Livestock Research as of September 2010 has been published. (See BJ August 2010). The number of livestock in utero have dropped to almost zero, making it clear that R&D on cloned livestock is approaching its end.

Table 1: The Current State of Livestock Clone Research in Japan (head)
	3/2010*	9/2010**
Total No. of births of germ line cell cloned cattle	728	728
Stillborn	75	75
Post-natal death	35	35
Death from sickness	105	105
Death from accidents	20	20
Provided for experiments	77	77
Sold, meat production	329	329
Missing	63	63
In research facilities, testing	24	24
In utero	0	2
Total No. of births of somatic cell cloned cattle	583	588
Stillborn	80	84
Post-natal death	94	94
Death from sickness (within 6 months of birth)	112	112
Death from sickness (later than 6 months after birth)	36	36
Death from accidents	9	9
Provided for experiments	193	196
In research facilities, testing	57	57
In utero	10	1
Total No. of births of somatic cell cloned pig	482	482
Stillborn	93	115
Post-natal death	51	54
Death from sickness	142	167
Death from accidents	18	24
Provided for experiments	134	152
In research facilities, testing	44	48
In utero	19	6
(Mini-pigs are not included)
Total No. of births of somatic cell cloned goat	9	9
Stillborn	1	1
Post-natal death	3	3
Death from sickness	3	3
Death from accidents	0	0
Provided for experiments	0	0
In research facilities, testing	2	2
In utero	0	0
* Accumulated total for the period 1998 to end March 2010 ** Accumulated total for the period 1998 to end September 2010

Table 2: GM crops approved for open field cultivation (Type 1 usage) (Biodiversity Impact Assessment Investigative Commission)
Crop	Trait	Application (Developer)	Name	Approval Date*
Rapeseed	Glyphosate and glyphosinate herbicide tolerance, male sterility and fertility restoration	Bayer CropScience	MS8 × RF3 × RT73, OECD UI: ACS-BN005-8 × ACS-BN003-6 × MON-00073-7	17 February 2011
* Technically, approval is granted after public comments have been accepted.