A man is suspected of illegally arranging organ transplants in China through a Tokyo nonprofit organization without the permission of the Japanese government, sources said Thursday.
The 49-year-old man, whose name was not provided, is known to have asked Koichi Kato, a former secretary general of the Liberal Democratic Party, for help with arranging for Chinese doctors to undergo training in Japan. Permission was granted in January.
Kato, who heads the Japan-China Friendship Association, claimed he did not know the man was involved in arranging organ transplants.
The organ transplant law prohibits the arrangement of transplants abroad without government permission.
The man said he had arranged transplants for more than 10 people over several years. The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry said it will examine the case and may report it to police.
Doctors in Japan are cautious about transplants in China due to ethical issues, including the alleged use of organs taken from executed prisoners.
The nonprofit organization, whose board includes one of the man's relatives, was set up about 2 1/2 years ago to gather and provide information on diseases that are difficult to cure.
The organization provides information on transplants abroad and offers advice to patients.
The man said that while he does not belong to the organization, it had only provided information about transplants abroad.
The Japan Organ Transplant Network is the only organization that has permission to arrange the transplant of various organs. If doctors in Japan introduce their counterparts in Europe and the U.S. who can perform organ transplants, that would be considered part of medical activities, not transplant arrangement, according to the health ministry.