Unapproved GM papayas are found among imported papayas almost every year. In Japan, GM papayas from Hawaii have been approved, but those from other regions are still not, making them illegal. On October 17, a voluntary inspection conducted by National Seafoods found GM papayas among papayas grown in Vietnam, and the quarantine station in Kobe ordered them to be discarded or shipped back. In April this year, GMOs were detected in Vietnamese pickled papayas.

While the vast majority of unapproved GM papayas previously detected were grown in Vietnam, over the past ten years, GM papayas grown in Thailand, the Philippines, and China have also been detected, underscoring the spread of GM papaya cultivation in Asia. All these varieties are resistant to papaya ringspot virus. Dennis Gonsalves, a professor at Cornell University in the United States, first developed the Hawaiian-grown GM Rainbow papaya, which has spread to other countries. Hawaiian-grown papayas used to be sold at the Costco supermarket and at the Kisoji family restaurant, but they are rarely found in Japan today.

The Philippines accounts for about three-fourths of papaya imports to Japan, and when imports from the United States are added, these two countries account for 99% of imported papaya. Imports from other countries are small, but most of the GM papayas have been detected in imports from Vietnam. GM papayas are being found several times a year due to the widespread illegal cultivation of GM papayas in Asian countries.

Other unapproved imported GM crops include Chinese rice vermicelli, rice flour, and noodles made from Bt rice. Bt rice was found almost every year in rice flour and noodles; in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011. There were three cases of Bt rice found in rice vermicelli in 2015, and Bt rice has been detected more recently, in 2020. Bt rice is also illegal in China, but it seems that cultivation is continuing.

Gra&Green Inc. notified the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on October 29, and the Consumer Affairs Agency on November 7, of its medium-sized tomato with a high sugar content developed by genome editing technology, the tomato thus becoming available for distribution in Japan. According to the notification to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, sales will begin in January 2026. The tomato has a higher sugar content due to disruption of the invertase inhibitor gene. This gene inhibits the function of invertase, an enzyme used by plants to transport sugar produced by photosynthesis in leaves to the fruit and other parts of the plant. Using the particle gun method, Cas9 and five genes, including a marker gene, were introduced.

The Singapore Food Agency has exempted high-GABA tomatoes developed and sold by Japan's Sanatech Seed Co., allowing them to be distributed in the country. The company received the notice on October 30. The genome-edited tomato is already available for distribution in the United States and the Philippines. (Sanatech Seed, Co., Ltd. 2025/11/5)

The Takaichi administration established the Japan Growth Strategy Headquarters, setting 17 strategic fields, and held its first meeting on November 10. One of the strategic fields included foodtech, along with synthetic biology and biotechnology. The government has specified budget measures and roadmaps for these strategic fields to strengthen the industrial base. The synthetic biology and biotechnology fields include food, along with pharmaceuticals and energy. Foodtech focuses on the development of meat substitutes and cultured meat. Strengthening food security and establishing sustainable production systems are proposed, and a growth strategy will be compiled by the summer of 2026.

Umami Bioworks, a Singapore-based company developing cultured fish meat, held a tasting event in Tokyo to evaluate the taste of cultured eel and caviar. 14 companies conducting or considering joint research with Umami Bioworks attended the tasting event. (Nikkei Biotech 2025/10/21)