Abstract

Biobank research contains potentially a lot of ethical issues, because it usually involves large numbers of individuals. So, the necessity of establishing governance framework has been emphasized in biobank research. It can be said that the core of the governance policy is fostering public trust, which also consists of two significant components: accountability and transparency. In this article, I explored how the accountability and transparency have actually been interpreted in the governance framework of Biobank Japan through the interviews with people involved in the ELSI committee. However, it became clear that both factors have not been developed in Biobank Japan owing to the closed culture and independent monitoring body with little authority. Finally, I presented several policy suggestions on how to improve public trust.