4/87 BIOTECHNOLOGY

In February 1987 the Ministry of International Trade and Industry dissolved the Fermentation Industry Association and replaced it with the Bioindustry Association. The association has 160 corporate members, 180 associate corporate members, 50 governmental organization members and 1,400 individual members.

---The Ministry of International Trade and Industry plans to transfer jurisdiction over the transfer of government owned biotechnology patents to the Bioindustry Association. It also intends to promote standardization in the industry, compile statistics, and train technicians.

---The Ministry of International Trade and Industry has decided to establish three marine biotechnology research laboratories in Iwate, Shizuoka and Kita Kyushu at cost of 70 billion yen of which the government will provide 35 billion yen. The ministry is seeking 9.5 billion yen in supplemental financing during the current fiscal year for the project.

---The Japan Development Bank has announced that it is establishing preferential funding for the commercialization of biotechnologies. The bank will provide up to 40% of the costs of production facilities meeting newly established safety guidelines. The bank had earlier established a system for preferential financing for biotechnology research facilities.

THE JAPAN LAWLETTER, April 1987. By Roderick Seeman