PRESS RELEASE

24 February 2021

To Members of the Press

-Press Conference-

Start of Signature Campaign for the Labeling of All

Genetically Modified Seeds and Seedlings

Consumers Union of Japan, the No! GMO Campaign and the Citizens’ Network for Biodiversity through Food and Agriculture (FA Net Japan) have started a signature campaign to demand that all genetically modified seeds and seedlings be labeled.

In December 2020,, the Japanese government approved the cultivation and distribution of genome edited tomatoes. The first genome edited tomato in Japan is a tomato with high levels of GABA developed by Sanatech Seed Corporation (Minato-ku, Tokyo) in collaboration with Tsukuba University. The company has begun accepting applications from the general public to distribute free seedlings of this genome edited tomato prior to its general distribution in the market.

In Japan, genome-edited seeds and seedlings are currently not required to be labeled, making it difficult for farmers to avoid such crops even if they do not want to grow them. Consumers cannot avoid genome-edited foods even if they do not want to eat them. In order to change this current situation of serious disdain for food sovereignty, we have started a petition campaign to require mandatory genetic engineering labeling on seeds and seedlings.

We will be holding a press conference to inform the media about the petition campaign. We hope that you will be able to attend. If you are able to attend the press conference or would like to participate online via ZOOM, please contact us by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, 26 February 2021.

Please contact: Michiyo Koketsu, Consumers Union of Japan (CUJ)

TEL: 03-5155-4765

Email: koketsu@nishoren.org

Web: http://www.nishoren.org/en/