Biosafety system frameworks for living modified organisms in Japan and Taiwan

Recently, the development of techniques for generating living modified organisms (LMOs) has become a vital issue worldwide, in both developing and developed countries. Movement of LMOs across boundaries and the uses of LMOs pose global biosafety issues. Trans-boundary movement is regulated internationally by the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (CPB) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), which seeks to protect the biological diversity of natural ecosystems from risks posed by the deliberate release of LMOs into the environment. The regulatory frameworks of individual nations also play an important role in biosafety rules and biotechnology development, especially in the process from research and development to commercialization. However, a number of countries have not yet implemented the CPB CBD. In particular, Taiwan has not yet developed a complete and workable regulatory framework. The information presented in this comparative study should be useful for stakeholders in Taiwan, and will illustrate modalities and specific issues that will be useful for countries that are in the process of developing a biosafety regulatory framework. These countries may integrate Japanese primary experiences and feedback for mutually elaborative regional systems.