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Overview

View Japan in a larger map Legend: = Government Agency, = NGO, = University, = Professional Society, = Poison Control Center, = Toxic Site.

Toxicology is a relatively new science compared with pharmacology and pathology. However, it is a multidisciplinary field encompassing these subjects as well as other related life and social sciences. In Japan, the study of modern toxicology originated in academic settings in the 1970s subsequent to severe health tragedies induced by chemicals in the 1960s. These included the congenital malformations induced by thalidomide, Minamata disease induced by methyl mercury, Itai-itai disease induced by cadmium, chinoform-induced SMON (subacute myelo-optico-neuropathy) disease, and Kanemi Oil Poisoning Case induced by Co-PCB (Coplanar Polychlorinated Biphenyl) or PCDF (Polychlorinated Dibenzo Furan). These events were driving forces in the formation of modern toxicology. The pharmaceutical and chemical industries joined in the pursuit of toxicological research in the 1980s. As GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) system was also introduced in the 1980s, industrial companies needed a platform for the exchange of information and for discussion. In the1990s, further development of the GLP system and experiences in industry ensured high quality testing and results. In addition, regulators became involved with the scientific sector. Their participation induced the development of regulatory sciences including toxicity test guidelines, e.g., OECD or ICH guidelines, for hazard identification, and subsequently industry recognized the significance of education/training. Subjects such as risk evaluation, mechanistic toxicology and cutting edge research toxicology including the -omics disciplines are advancing among the academic, regulatory and industrial sectors in the 2000s. High throughput screening of chemicals is also an important issue, and food safety is of particularly high interest to the public. On the other hand, clinical toxicology including occupational safety and epidemiology, is not a major focus of toxicology in Japan. Toxicology should clearly play an important role in risk communication. Many future challenges to toxicology remain..

A version of this article was published in Information Resources in Toxicology, 4th Edition, Tetsuo Satoh and Takeshi Morita, Copyright Elsevier (2009).

Government Agencies

(政府組織)

• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (農林水産省) 
• Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) (経済産業省)
• Ministry of the Environment (環境省)
  • Environmental Risk Evaluation on Chemicals (化学物質の環境リスク評価書) (Database)
  • Information on PRTR chemicals (PRTR 対象化学物質情報) (Database)
  • Report on Environmental Survey and Monitoring of Chemicals ((化学物質環境実態調査 (化学物質と環境)) ) (Database)
    • FY2005
    • FY2004
    • FY2003
    • FY2002
    • FY2001
    • FY1998
    • FY1996
• Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) (厚生労働省)
  • Japan Existing Chemical (Toxicity) Data Base (JECDB) (既存化学物質毒性データベース) (Database)

Government Institutes

(政府研究関連機関)

• Agricultural Chemicals Inspection Station (ACIS): A part of Food and Agricultural Materials Inspection Center (FAMIC) (農林水産消費安全技術センター)
• National Institute for Environmental Studies (国立環境研究所)
  • Chemical Database (化学物質データベース) (Database)
• National Institute of Health Sciences (NIHS) (国立医薬品食品衛生研究所)
• National Institute of Health and Nutrition (国立健康栄養研究所)
  • Information System on Safety and Effectiveness for Health Foods (「健康食品」の安全性・有効性情報) (Database)
• National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, Japan (JNIOSH) (労働安全衛生総合研究所)
• National Institute of Technology and Evaluation (NITE) (製品評価技術基盤機構（NITE))
  • Chemical Risk Information Platform (CHRIP) (化学物質総合情報提供システム) (Database)
  • Primarily Evaluation Reports (初期リスク評価書)
  • Primarily Evaluation Reports/Hazard Evaluation Reports (初期リスク評価書/有害性評価書)
• New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) (新エネルギー・産業技術総合開発機構)
• Research Center for Chemical Risk Management (化学物質リスク管理研究センター)
  • Risk Assessment Documents (詳細リスク評価書) (Database)

Non-Government Organizations

(非政府組織)

• Chemicals Evaluation and Research Institute (CERI) (化学物質評価研究機構)
  • Chemical safety (hazard) data sheet list (化学物質安全性（ハザード）データ評価シートリスト) (Database)
• Japan Advanced Information Centre of Safety and Health (JAISH) (安全衛生情報センター)
  • Chemical Information (化学物質情報) (Database)Japan Chemical Industry Association (日本化学工業協会)
  • Chemical Product Database (化学製品情報データベース) (Database)
• Japan Chemical Industry Ecology-Toxicology (日本化学物質安全情報センター)
  • Japanese Translation version of OECD SIAP (SIAP（SIDS Initial Assessment Profile）日本語版 ) (Database)
• Japan Industrial Safety and Health Association (中央労働災害防止協会)
• The Japan Food Chemical Research Foundation (日本食品化学研究振興財団)

Universities

(大学)

• Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Nagoya City University (名古屋市立大学大学院医学研究科分子毒性学教室)
• Laboratory of Poisoning, Faculty of pharmaceutical sciences, Showa University (昭和大学薬学部毒物学教室)
• Laboratory of Toxicology, Teikyo University School of Pharmaceutical Sciences (帝京大学薬学部毒性学教室)

Professional Societies

(学会)

• Japan Society for Occupational Health (日本産業衛生学会)
• Japanese Society of Alternative to Animal Experiments (日本実験動物代替法学会)
• Japanese Society for Clinical Toxicology (日本中毒学会)
• The Japanese Environmental Mutagen Society (日本環境変異原学会)
• The Japanese Society of Toxicology (日本トキシコロジー学会)
• The Japanese Society for Hygiene (日本衛生学会)

Poison Control Centers

(中毒情報/管理センター)

• Japan Poison Information Center (日本中毒情報センター)

Miscellaneous Resources

(その他)

• Kanagawa Environmental Research Center (神奈川県環境科学センター)
• Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health (東京都健康安全研究センター)

Key Publications

(主要出版物)

• Journals
  • Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine
  • Genes and Environment (旧環境変異原研究)
  • Industrial Health(Industrial Health)
  • Japanese Journal of Hygiene (日本衛生学雑誌)
  • Journal of Occupational Health(産業衛生学雑誌)
  • The Japanese Journal of Clinical Toxicology (中毒研究)
  • The Journal of Toxicological Sciences(The Journal of Toxicological Sciences)
• Monographs
  • Clinical Toxicology, Eds., Ford et al., Vol. 1, Japanese Translating Eds., Hiroshi Naitoh and Noriko Yokote, 2002, Maruzen Co. Ltd.
    化学物質毒性ハンドブック臨床編第1巻、監訳：内藤裕史、横手規子、2002 年、丸善
  • Clinical Toxicology, Eds., Ford et al., Vol. 2, Japanese Translating Eds., Hiroshi Naitoh and Noriko Yokote, 2003, Maruzen Co. Ltd.
    化学物質毒性ハンドブック臨床編第2巻、監訳：内藤裕史、横手規子、2003 年、丸善
  • Emergency manual for drugs and poisoning, 7th Edition, Ed., Katsuhide Nishji, 2003, Iyaku-Journal Co., Ltd.
    薬 ・毒物中毒救急マニュアル（改訂7版）、監修：西勝英、2003 年、医薬ジャーナル社
  • First aid manual for acute poisoning, 3rd Edition, Ed., Japan Poisoning Information Centre, 1999, Jiho Co., Ltd.
    急性中毒処置の手引（第3版）、編集：日本中毒情報センター、1999 年、じほう
  • Poisoning and Drug Overdose, 2nd Edition, Ed., Kent R. Olson, Japanese translation version, Translating Edior, Tetsuya Sakamoto, 1999, Medical Science International Co. Ltd.
    中毒ハンドブック、監訳：坂本哲也、1999 年、メディカル･サイエンス・インターナショナル
  • Toxicology, Ed., Education Committee of The Japanese Society of Toxicology, 2002, Asakura-shoten Co., Ltd.
    トキシコロジー、編集：日本トキシコロジー学会教育委員会、2002 年、朝倉書店
• Other
  • NATIONAL PROFILE on Chemicals Management JAPAN (化学物質の管理に係るナショナル・プロファイル) (PDF - 410 KB)

Legal Links

• Agricultural Chemicals Regulation Law (農薬取締法)
  • (有害物質を含有する家庭用品の規制に関する法律施行規則)
• The Law Concerning the Examination and Regulation of Manufacture, etc. of Chemical Substances (or the Chemical Substances Control Law) (化学物質の審査及び製造等の規制に関する法律（化審法))
  • (化審法改正通知)
• Poisonous and Deleterious Substances Control Law (毒物及び劇物取締法)
  • (毒物及び劇物取締法に関する通知等)
• Pollutant Release and Transfer Register (PRTR) (化学物質排出把握管理促進法（PRTR))

About Japan

(日本について)

• Background Notes: Japan (US Department of State)
• Consular Information Sheet: Japan (US Department of State)
• Country Study: Japan (US Library of Congress)
• Culture Crossing: Japan (Cultural Etiquette for Interacting with People from Japan)
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs (外務省)
• Portals to the World: Japan (US Library of Congress)
• The Japan Newspaper Publishers (日本新聞協会)
• The World Fact Book: Japan
• World Health Organization - Environmental Burden of Disease Country Profile (PDF - 116 KB)

Multilateral Organization Contacts

• Multilateral Organization Resource Contacts

Literature References from TOXLINE (Japan)

• Search for Literature Related to Japan
• Search for Literature by Authors in Japan

  
  Note:Overlap between these two sets of search results is likely.