The government said Thursday that it has established a task force to draft guidelines by the end of next March for studying the human genome.
The 19-member panel, established by the education, health and trade ministries and the Science and Technology Agency, will be led by Tadao Kakizoe, director of the hospital attached to the National Cancer Center.
In June, an international group of researchers completed sequencing and assembling the genetic code -- a rough blueprint of humans -- after 10 years of work.
The breakthrough is seen as a leap in the development of new treatments for diseases like cancer.
The guidelines would cover all research conducted on the human genome by private companies and research institutions.
The task force will hold its first meeting Monday.