First, I spoke directly to the responsible sections of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), from Battambang, via Internet phone call.

Since cotton is used for clothing, not food, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries does not have any specific GMO regulations for cotton used specifically for clothing purposes. Put another way, genetically modified cotton is most easily grown in Japan.

According to my inquiries, applications have already been submitted and approved for domestic cultivation of genetically modified seeds of corn, soybean, rapeseed, and sugar beet (the raw material for sugar). If there is a farmer who wants to grow it, it is "ready to be produced immediately. If there is a farmer or agricultural corporation that offers to grow it, it can start growing in Japan at any time.

Cottonseed oil is edible and therefore regulated by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. However, since there is no way to press cottonseed oil without cotton, the first turning point will be whether genetically modified cotton seeds will be used for cultivation.

Next, I spoke to METI and found that the Tohoku Cotton Project was subsidized by METI to the tune of 47 million yen for one year. (This was used up in one year). The subsidy was to be used to purchase a tractor, build a warehouse, and to pay for weeding and Tohoku Cotton Project office operations (events, personnel, etc.).

Since the weeding is not done by volunteer children or employees of participating companies who do not come every day, a daily allowance was paid to the locals who weeded.

Sumitomo Chemical told me that they joined the participating companies because "pests" and weeds are very time-consuming and labor-intensive to exterminate. In FY13, Sumitomo Chemical "applied for" and "registered" the pesticides "Flumio WDG (annual broadleaf weeds)" as a herbicide and "Dantotsu Water Solvent (aphids)," "Diana SC (plantain moths and thrips)," and "ESMARK DF (plantain moths)" as insecticides, in the 2013 In FY13, Sumitomo Chemical completed the "application" and "registration" procedures, and provided guidance on how to use them in Tohoku.

So far, a total of nine pesticides have been approved in Japan for the cultivation of cottonseed rape.

Up to Miyagi Prefecture was the northern limit of cotton cultivation in Japan. In this sense, there may be some native species left in Miyagi that are suited to the region. In Tochigi Prefecture, Moka cotton was the most famous cotton in Japan during the Edo period. If Tohoku is to be restored, questions remain as to why they did not try the existing Moka cotton, but instead used Upland cotton seeds, which are widely used overseas.

There remains a concern that since the seeds are not edible, they will be used to sow cotton seeds of genetically modified seeds as test plots. The fact that this will lead to the use of genetically modified seeds of corn, soybeans, rapeseed, and sugar beets (raw material for sugar) must be the subject of national debate, as in the European Union (EU), after sufficient information disclosure to the authorities and reporting by the media. I believe that this should be the subject of a national debate, as in the European Union (EU).

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