A research association has drafted guidelines on cloned human embryos that will advocate their creation for use in regenerative medicine, but ban the act of cloning humans, the group said.
The measures, formulated by the Japan Human Cell Society, a group of some 800 doctors and researchers, says the creation of embryos that could lead to cloning is necessary to conduct research into regenerative medicine, the sources said.
If the society officially adopts the guidelines, which it says it expects to do in September, it will be in conflict with embryo guidelines that have already been laid down by the science ministry.
The Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry drafted guidelines in June that ban the creation of such embryos in line with a government law that makes human cloning a crime.
The law, which came into effect in June, carries a punishment of up to 10 years in prison for human cloning.