Buildings, etc. of the aquaculture facility in Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture, where Regional Fish Institute Ltd. is farming its genome-edited red seabream and other fish, were severely damaged in the earthquake that hit the Noto Peninsula on January 1, 2024. According to an announcement by the company, three of four water intake pipes were damaged, causing difficulties in water supply; concrete on the site was distorted; and there are places where buildings are in a state of near-collapse, making work impossible. The company has stated that none of the genome-edited fish have escaped. Regarding the escape of genome-edited fish, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has said that while it has received a report that no genome-edited fish have escaped, MAFF has not actually confirmed the situation itself. Regional Fish has not reported to local municipalities about the damage at the facility.
(Regional Fish 2024/1/19 and others)

Kewpie has announced that the clinical testing for the allergy-reduced eggs produced from genome-edited chickens, developed jointly by Kewpie and Hiroshima University, to be conducted by Sagamihara National Hospital, was selected as a "Practical Immunology and Allergy Diseases Research Project" for 2023 under a public call by the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED). The clinical testing is scheduled to last until March 31, 2026.
(Kewpie-Aohata News 2014/1/18)

An Israeli precision fermenting company, Imagindairy, has announced the purchase of a large-scale precision fermentation production line to begin production in earnest. The dairy products produced there will be marketed in the USA in the near future. The company's CTO (Chief Technical Officer) Arie Abo is one of the founders of the US precision fermentation company New Culture.
(Foovo 2024/1/19)

The cricket research institute run by the Tokushima University venture company Gryllus, which has developed genome-edited crickets, has closed its online shop as of January 25, 2024. It can be said that this is the result of eating insects and the modification of insects by genome editing have not gained the acceptance of consumers.
(Gryllus 2024/1/17)

The GM tropical fish betta (Siamese fighting fish) is being illegally distributed in Japan. According to a report from the organizer to the Ministry of the Environment (MoE), tropical fish thought to be GM betta were exhibited at an event held in Osaka in June 2023. As a result of an investigation, it was confirmed in August that the fish had been illegally imported from Thailand. The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested a person who was selling GM betta on a charge of contravention of the Japanese Cartagena Act and the MoE has requested that relevant municipal departments and industry organizations take measures to prevent a recurrence of the incident. The GM betta in question had a coral fluorescent (bioluminescent) gene inserted into it.
(Ministry of the Environment 2024/1/17)