Japan Eyes Ban on Gene-Edited Babies

Tokyo, Dec. 4 (Jiji Press)--Japan plans to introduce a ban with penalties on implanting a genome-edited fertilized human egg into the womb of a human or another animal amid concerns over “designer babies.”

A Japanese government expert panel broadly approved a proposal, including the ban, at a meeting Thursday.

With concerns rising over babies whose genetic makeup has been altered to accommodate the parents’ preferences, the government aims to submit related legislation during next year’s ordinary parliamentary session at the earliest.

In 2019, the government’s Expert Panel on Bioethics drafted a report calling for discussions on laws and regulations on the subject, following the birth of genome-edited twins in China.

Japan did not establish any legislation at the time as genome editing had not been clinically applied.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]