Home > Policy > White Paper, Notice, Announcement > White Paper > JAPANESE GOVERMENT POLICICIES IN EDUCATION, SCIENCE AND CULTURE 1994 > PART II Chapter 6 Section 5 2

Animal, plant, fossil, and other specimens collected by universities and other institutions play an important role in education and research. In addition to encouraging the collection and storage of such specimens in universities and other institutions, the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is establishing and enhancing museums and other facilities for the storage and utilization of such resources.

Dramatic advances in bioscience have also created a need for the establishment of systems to secure and preserve valuable genetic resources for use in research in such areas as biology, medicine, pharmacology, and agriculture. Universities and other institutions are working to secure and preserve various biological genealogies needed for research and to make these available to researchers.

Highly precise animal tests are essential to research in such fields as medicine, pharmacology, and biology. The Ministry of Education, Science and Culture is therefore conducting research and development relating to laboratory animals and developing animal-testing facilities. To ensure that animal tests are appropriate from both the scientific and the animal-welfare perspectives, the Ministry requires universities and other institutions to establish animal-testing guidelines.