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Agriculture
Japan Struggles to
Grow GM Crops
T
he Japanese agriculture ministry has set up a study team to spur the
commercialization of genetically modified crops for biofuel instead of food, which
has been largely shunned by the public because of safety concerns. By promoting
the commercialization of genetically modifed (GM) crops for fuel, the ministry hopes to
eventually gain the public’s trust in using GM crops for human consumption.
Full fledged commercial cultivation of GM crops started in other countries, such
as the Untied States, about ten years ago. Japanese universities and research institutes
started growing GM crops outdoors on an experimental basis from the late 1990s. Most
of these projects are still in the research and development stage. Currently, 11 GM
crops in Japan are approved under a national law based on the Cartagena Protocol on
Biosafety. The crops, including rice plants, soybeans and corn, are mainly intended for
human food and animal feed.
But none of the crops grown for human consumption has been commercialized.
Commercial farming has not yet been established in Japan for even inedible GM plants.
Because of strong safety concerns among the nation’s consumers, the government has
found it difficult to approve GM crops for practical use.
To get around all of these hurdles, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries
considered commercialization of GM fields for purposes other than human consumption.
The study team, comprising specialists and executives of consumer and producer groups,
will draw up a medium-term strategy and a scheduled program for research, development
and commercialization of GM crops.
It is expected to propose concrete plans to commercialize inedible GM crops in
five to ten years. Crops under the plan include GM rice plants, which can yield more
grain than regular rice plants for use as biofuel. Other GM plants that can suck up
underground toxic substances, such as heavy metals, will also be considered.
APBN • Vol. 11 • No. 11 • 2007
769