. We are happy to welcome Paige Tomaselli, senior staff attorney at US-based Center for Food Safety, who will be speaking at 3 events in Tokyo in May. She is invited by Consumers Union of Japan, No! GMO Campaign and Japan Citizens’ Network for Sustainable Food & Agriculture. May 18 is International day of biological [...]

Consumers Union of Japan opposes GM salmon, and sent the following appeal to US FDA as part of their Public Comment (deadline Feb. 25, 2013): Re: Docket No. FDA-2011-N-0899 Genetically Engineered Salmon We the consumers in Japan are strongly opposed to the approval of genetically modified (GM) salmon. This GM fish has been said to [...]

Updates about GMOs from the Convention of Biological Diversity It is not always easy to follow the details of the discussions and negotiations of international agreements… Media pays scant attention or ignores important concerns. Governments provide a massive amount of information but it is not easy to find or digest. Fortunately, NGOs are usually present [...]

On the first Tuesday of every month, demonstrations will be held in front of the Prime Minister’s Official Residence in Tokyo. Together we can stop the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP)! Consumers Union of Japan has joined together with other organizations to strongly voice our opposition to TPP. Starting in August, 2012, a new campaign strategy [...]

CUJ has joined other NGOs from around the world for the 6th Meeting of Parties (MOP6) of the Convention of Biological Diversity. The United Nations conference is held in Hyderabad, India October 1-5, 2012. Just over 2 years ago, everyone met in Nagoya for the MOP5, as negotiators finalized the Nagoya – Kuala Lumpur Supplementary [...]

A study by the No! GMO Campaign has revealed that Japan’s supermarket chains are refusing to sell genetically modified papaya. The No! GMO Campaign was set up in 1996 to stop genetically modified foods. 16 years later, there is no commercial GM farming in Japan. Consumers and civic groups are continuing the battle against imported [...]

At the 11th meeting of the Ramsar Convention for wetlands, a draft resolution was introduced that came dangerously close to open a back door to genetically modified rice. Rice paddy fields in many countries are supporting wildlife such as migratory birds and marine species. The use of pesticides have caused much damage to such sensitive [...]

An Appeal from the NO! GMO Campaign in Japan As part of our participation in Collective Rice Action (CORA) 2012 June 1, 2012 Protect life and biological diversity; oppose genetically modified food and TPP! We are very concerned about the efforts by the government, business interests, and mass media to get Japan to join the [...]

CUJ and other groups held a joint seminar about food additives at Shufuren in Tokyo on February 28, 2012. Invited speaker Nakamura Mikio made a detailed presentation about the problems, with a focus on recent developments. Japan has recently been forced to permit some 70 new food additives that are used in the US and [...]

Consumers Union of Japan and other organizations have jointly started a lecture series to discuss the problems with free trade agreements from the consumers’ perspective. During the APEC meeting in the fall of 2011, the Noda Administration expressed that Japan will participate in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations. Mass media made it appear as [...]