The iPS stockpiling and provision service of the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, having completed its testing of four strains out of the 27 strains it has provided, discovered abnormalities in two of the strains. When the institutes to which the cells had been provided cultured and differentiated the cells, gene abnormalities related to canceration were found, and furthermore, cells produced at the same time showed differences as to whether they had abnormalities or not and, if they did, the types of abnormalities present. It is thought possible that this will be a severe hindrance to iPS cell use in the future.

(Mainichi Shimbun 2020/1/8)

On 24 December 2019, the feed subcommittee and the feed safety subcommittee of the MAFF Agricultural Materials Council held a meeting to finalize their "Handling based on the Feed Safety Act" of genome edited feed crops and feed additives. In the past, genome edited crops for feed and feed additives were handled in the same way as other crops, the subject of the debate this time being how to handle hybrid progenies that are crossbreeds with genome edited crops. As a result of the deliberations, notification was deemed unnecessary for hybrid progenies. Notification was also deemed unnecessary for crop varieties crossbred with GM crops provided the GM crop had already passed the safety screening. One of the premises at the time of the decision was that "it should be confirmed that the property newly acquired due to genome editing technology is unchanged in the hybrid progeny."