By Andrew Conner, USGC Manager of Global Biotechnology

Japanese government biotechnology regulatory officials, like other Japanese central government officers, rotate every two to four years. Keeping new officials fully informed of the latest issues in biotech is a constant challenge. Last week, in cooperation with the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo, the U.S. Grains Council hosted a team of Japanese regulators, who visited the United States to learn about the scientific risk assessment of U.S. agricultural biotech products and the production and trade of such products.

The team first travelled to a grain export terminal in New Orleans, where they met with scientists who conduct tests for biotechnology varieties in grain shipments. They then travelled to Iowa to visit member companies and a farmer cooperative. While in Iowa, they visited Gordon Wassenaar’s farm and saw firsthand that biodiversity exists in and around fields where biotech crops are cultivated. To close the week, the team met with representatives from the life science companies and U.S. government regulators in Washington, D.C.

The trip was successful in educating the Japanese regulators on the structure of the bulk grain system, the pipeline for upcoming biotech products, and the benefits of biotechnology for growers. These team visits are critical to ensuring the continued free flow of U.S. biotech corn to Japan and minimizing the risk of trade disruption by unnecessary regulatory actions.