Japanese Govt Formulates Draft Plan to Develop ‘World-Class Genomic Medicine’; Raising Awareness, Ensuring Fairness Among Tasks

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:18 JST, September 8, 2025

The government will take steps to develop “world-class genomic medicine,” according to a draft basic plan for medical measures that utilize genomic data.

The government will work to balance the medicine with bioethics and discrimination prevention, according to the draft. It will also work to promote research and development and improve delivery systems for medical services.

The draft is set to be submitted to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Health, Labor and Welfare Division on Tuesday, with Cabinet approval sought by the end of this year.

It is the first such draft to be formulated under the genomic medicine law, which was enacted in June 2023. Genomic medicine utilizes genetic information to treat diseases, and expectations are high that genome analysis could lead to the development of drugs and ways of identifying causes of diseases such as cancer.

On the other hand, there are concerns that genomic medicine could lead to discrimination, as an individual’s genetic information can be used to predict their future health status, as well as that of their family.

Included in the draft is the overall goal of “contributing to public health by promoting genomic medicine while respecting individual rights and interests.”

The draft also establishes three pillars: conducting activities to raise awareness and gain public support; building delivery systems for medical services; and promoting research and development.

Regarding the activities to raise awareness, the draft states that the government will establish a service for consultations about genomic medicine through the Justice Ministry’s consultation system for issues related to human rights and through labor standards inspection offices, among others, within fiscal 2025. It plans to compile information on unjust treatments and disseminate it to relevant agencies.

The government also plans within the fiscal year to prepare educational materials, and utilize them at schools and workplaces across the nation from next fiscal year.

For the medical service delivery systems, the government aims to establish an environment in which patients can easily access genomic medicine by improving medical institutions, which play a central role in delivering genomic medical services, with national and other public hospitals thought to be in mind.

It will also work on building a cooperative network between medical institutions.

For research and development, the draft states that the government will work to develop a framework for establishing a database of genomic information, as well as nurturing personnel related to genomics. It will also help the personnel hone their expertise.