The debate about genetically modified food started among consumers in Japan back in the autumn of 1996. As early as April the following year, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare received a petition from NO! GMO Campaign signed by 448,028 people, opposing GM food and demanding proper labelling. And by April 1998, the Health Ministry had received over 2 million signatures opposing GM food, plus 1,050 written requests from municipalities all over Japan calling for GM food labelling.
The Japanese government introduced a GM food labelling law in April 2001. However, the law had many loopholes, so it did not meet the demand of consumers to be able to exercise their right to avoid GM food. In July 2002, the Ministry of Public Management and Home Affairs announced the result of its own public opinion poll: 84% of respondents said that labelling is needed if a product is derived from GM crops even when the amount is very small; 76% said that labelling is needed if a product is derived from GM crops regardless of whether it contains any GM material or not, e.g. edible oil and soy sauce.
For the rest of the story: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_8039.cfm
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