What are Bioethics?

Although science and technology in modern society are progressing as shown in the advancement of fields such as multimedia, ethical problems, to which we should be more sensitive, have increased. This is especially true in bioscience and bioethics related to the essence of life or the root of life. These are issues of great social concern and it imperative that we devise means to deal with them in an established manner. Under such circumstances, the Bioethics Committee of the Council for Science and Technology Policy was established in Japan and its first meeting was held on October 30, 1997.

For example, research on the human genome, called the blueprint of life, may change the way we think about human beings, life, and shake the values in society as research progresses because the human genome itself leads to the root of human life. That's why, to what extent, and in what ways research on the human genome may be ethically permitted becomes a problem. In research on the human genome, base sequence decoding has almost finished. Sequencing aims to clarify genetic factors forming a person's constitution or causing diseases and to further the development of biomedical science, especially new medical care tailored to individuals by studying differences in individual genomes. However, in conducting such research, samples from many donors are needed. As research results clarify an individual's gene information, it is feared that unprecedented problems may arise. For that reason, from the point of bioethics, the Basic Principles about Research on the Human Genome were established on June 14, 2000.

Human Embryonic Stem Cells must be ethically respected as the beginning of human life. There are undoubtedly many opinions depending on an individual's view of life concerning to what extent a human embryo should be protected. However, it goes without saying that using a human embryo not for birth, but for research and losing or damaging are matters of concern and ethics. Even if such research produces important results, the research should be permitted only in cases when it is appropriate to conduct such research after considering what points to be respected in the beginning of a human life.

Considering the above, the Law Concerning Regulation Relating to Human Cloning Techniques and Other Similar Techniques was put into effect on December 5, 2001 and the Guidelines for the Handling of Specific Embryos were also put into effect on the same day.