MAFF and the Ministry of the Environment (MoE) have both released their different reports on GM rapeseed volunteer surveys conducted in 2012. (For previous articles, please see BJ August 2011 and BJ December 2011)

MAFF began GM rapeseed surveys in the surroundings of ports of import in 2006, and added a GM soybean survey in 2009. In 2012, MAFF surveyed the environs of 15 ports of import for rapeseed and 10 ports of import for soybeans. The results were that GM rapeseed was found in the surroundings of seven ports and GM soybeans were found in the surroundings of three ports.

Table 1. GM Rapeseed Volunteer Survey (MAFF 2012)
Plant name	No. of samples	GMOs
Rapeseed (Brassic napus)	382	131 (34%)
Natane (IndigenousJapanese rapeseed B. rapa var. nippo-oleifera)	188	0
Karashina (Brassica juncea)	823	0
TOTAL	1393	131

Table 2. GM Soybean Volunteer Survey (MAFF 2012)
Plant name	No. of samples	GMOs
Soybean	9	3
Wild soybean (Glycine soja)	15	0
TOTAL	24	3

MoE has been conducting surveys since 2002. At first, these were in the surroundings of ports of import, but from 2006 surveys are being carried out along roads and river terraces in the region of Kashima Port in Ibaraki Prefecture, Yokkaichi Port in Mie Prefecture, and Hakata Port in Fukuoka Prefecture. Surveys were also conducted along the roads and on the river terraces in the region of these three ports in 2012.

Table 3. GM Rapeseed Volunteer Survey (MoE 2012)
Plant name	Kashima		Yokkaichi		Hakata		TOTAL
	n	GMOs	n	GMOs	n	GMOs	n	GMOs
Rapeseed	36	0	237	170	5	2	278	172
Natane	0	0	76	0	22	0	98	0
Karashina	7	0	136	0	14	0	157	0

(n=No. of samples)

On the basis of the above results, both MAFF and MoE have given the evaluation that the distribution of volunteers has not expanded beyond the limits of roads and river terraces and that no hybrid plants have been confirmed.