Tokyo

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has announced plans for a five-year project to examine potential long-term risks of genetically modified (GM) crops to the environment. The move comes amid growing signs of consumer resistance to GM products in Japan.

Researchers at the National Institute of Agro-Environmental Sciences, in Tsukuba, will test the possibility of gene transfer from GM oilseed rape to wild plant species.

GM oilseed rape, approved in Japan for agricultural purposes, is an outbreeding species with many wild relatives in Japan. If gene transfer is judged likely, MAFF will assess whether this would have any harmful ecological effects.

According to MAFF, results from this research will be reflected in its new safety guidelines, which are currently being revised to incorporate more rigorous criteria for testing the safety of GM crops. This is partly due to the recent publication of research indicating that pollen from Bt corn can harm the larvae of monarch butterflies. The ministry decided in June to suspend approval of all Bt crops for agricultural purposes until it has established criteria for evaluating the safety of GM crops (see Nature 399, 719; 1999).

Although MAFF officials predict that the risks of GM crops are negligible, they emphasize the importance of allaying public concern by tightening the safety regulations.

In the wake of last month's decision by the government to label food products containing detectable GM ingredients (see Nature 400, 605; 1999), Japanese companies — none of which has yet commercialized GM products — are finding it hard to overcome the negative image of GM foods.

Recent government decisions on GM organisms “are a real setback for Japan's GM industry,” says Atsushi Suzuki, an adviser to Japan Tobacco, which is involved in the development of GM rice.

Some companies are already retreating. Kirin Beer, one of Japan's largest breweries, last week announced it would abandon its research into GM tomatoes, and promised its beer would be GM-free by 2001.