Guidelines for handling embryos

After a series of debates in the Diet, the government’s bill was slightly revised and passed the Diet on November 30, 2000. The Democratic Party of Japan finally agreed to the government’s revised bill. The phrase “within five years” from Supplementary Provisions Article 2 was revised to “within three years,” and the new words “the sprout of human life” (hito no seimei no hōga), which the Democratic Party had stressed in their bill, were inserted.

Accordingly, the revised article was as follows:

Supplementary Provisions

Article2 (Study and Examination) The Government shall, within three years of enforcement of this Law, take necessary measures in accordance with the results of its study and examination of the provisions under this law, on the basis of the results of the study and examination by the Council for Science and Technology Policy, Cabinet Office concerning the method of handling of a human fertilised embryo as the sprout of human life with consideration to the circumstances in which this Law is enforced or to any change of the situation surrounding the cloning techniques and other similar techniques.

(*The translation of the words “hito no seimei no hōga” by the government was “the beginning of a human life,” but I believe this translation loses subtle nuances that are present in the literal translation “the sprout of human life.” In the above translation I have used the latter.) [6/7]

Article 4 of this law stipulated that the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology shall prescribe guidelines in relation to the handling of Specified Embryos. In response to this article, the Ministry began to establish guidelines concerning specific embryos. After a heated debate in a committee, the Ministry announced The Guidelines for the Handling of a Specific Embryo (4) on December 5, 2001. Important parts of the guidelines are as follows.

The Guidelines for Handling of a Specific Embryo (December 5, 2001)

Article 1 Production of a Specified Embryo shall be allowed only when the following requirements are satisfied:

1) Scientific knowledge, which cannot be acquired from research with only animal embryos or other research without Specific Embryos, is acquired from production of such a Specified Embryo

2) omitted.

Article 2

1) Regardless of the provision in Article 1 above, only an animal-human chimeric embryo shall be allowed to be produced among nine categories of Specified Embryos, and the purpose of its production shall be limited to the research concerning production of human cell-derived organs translatable to a human being.

2) A Producer shall not use any human fertilised embryos or human unfertilised eggs in order to produce an animal-human chimeric embryo. [7/8]

Article 9

Specified Embryos, except for ones prescribed in Article 3 of ‘the Law Concerning Regulation Relating Human Cloning Techniques and Other Similar Techniques (Law No. 146, 2000)’ (hereinafter referred to as “the law”), shall not be transferred into the uterus of a human or animal for the present.

(*Translation by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology)

List of Specified Embryos	Transfer prohibited by the law	Transfer prohibited by the guidelines	Research prohibited by the law	Research prohibited by the guidelines
Human somatic clone embryo	prohibited			prohibited
Human-animal amphimictic embryo	prohibited			prohibited
Human-animal chimeric embryo	prohibited			prohibited
Human-animal hybrid embryo	prohibited			prohibited
Human split embryo		prohibited		prohibited
Human embryonic clone embryo		prohibited		prohibited
Human-human chimeric embryo		prohibited		prohibited
Animal-human hybrid embryo		prohibited		prohibited
Animal-human chimeric embryo		prohibited		approved

Table 1



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The Ethics of Human Cloning and the Sprout of Human Life (2004)
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