It has become clear that a laboratory of molecular bioinformatics at Kagawa University Faculty of Medicine washed away down a sink culture fluid containing GM E. coli that had been used in experiments without first killing the E. coli or taking steps to render them inactive as required by the Cartagena biosafety laws. (See BJ June 2008) The experiments had continued for three-and-a-half years and it appears that the illegal disposal had continued for the whole of that period. The facts came to light through an inside whistleblower. An intramural investigative committee was established in the university on 26 March 2010.

Personal data of embryo donors for human ES cell research was discussed at a meeting of the MEXT specialist panel held on 26 March 2010. Although there is no clear regulation in the current guideline, personal data concerning donors is protected by making it totally impossible to know who has donated. Discussions have now begun to change this to link-capable anonymity. Under this system, the donorfs identity is known, but the information is coded in some way. Two reasons were given for this. 1) As research advances it may be necessary to re-obtain the informed consent of the donor. 2) It is necessary to know the clinical history of the donor.

Trials of the high-tryptophan GM rice, the aim of which was changed from human food use to animal feed use part way into the development, will be carried out again this year, continuing on from last year, at the independent administrative entity National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, National Institute of Crop Science facility in Ibaraki Prefecture. (See BJ July 2009) (National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, National Institute of Crop Science 2010/04/09)

Monsanto Japan is to carry out trials of a drought tolerant GM maize from mid-May at its fields in Ibaraki Prefecture. It looks as if moves towards the commercialization of drought tolerant varieties are about to become quite lively in the near future. (Japan Monsanto 2010/03/20)

Table 1: GM crops approved for open field cultivation (Type 1 usage) (Biodiversity Impact Assessment Investigative Commission)
Crop	Trait	Application (Developer)	Name	Approval Date*
Maize	Lepidoptera pest resistance, glyphosate and gluphosinate herbicide tolerance	Dow Chemicals Japan Ltd., Monsanto Japan Ltd.	MON-89034 × B.t.Cry1F maize line 1507 × NK603, OECD UI: MON-89034-3 × DAS-01507-1 × MON-00603-6 (includes separated pedigree lines)	24 March 2010
Papaya	Papaya ringspot virus resistance	Japanese Office of the Hawaii Papaya Industry Association	55-1, OECD UI: CUH-CP551-8	24 March 2010
* Technically, approval is granted after public comments have been accepted.