Ethical and Social Issues in the Genome Research of A-Bomb Survivors

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-680-2_4How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Atomic Bomb Survivors; Trio Genome Study; Individual Genomic Diversity

Abstract

The Radiation Effects Research Foundation (RERF), located in Hiroshima city, is a research institute dedicated to the examination of the health of A-bomb survivors and their children. The children are known as “second-generation A-bomb survivors.” RERF has investigated the correlation between the health problems of second-generation A-bomb survivors and their parents’ radiation exposure, but no definitive correlation has been found with the methods used to date. However, some A-bomb survivors and second-generation A-bomb survivors are concerned about the inherited effects of radiation exposure on their offspring. RERF is currently planning the parents/child “trio genome study” to decode and compare the genomes (whole genome information) of A-bomb survivors and their children. It is expected that this research project will reveal whether or not the effects of A-bomb radiation exposure are inherited to descendants at the genomic level. However, genomic information can also be shared with their families. Furthermore, A-bomb survivors have faced discrimination in marriage and other matters. Therefore, strict ethical considerations are necessary for this research project, and RERF scientists have continued to consider how to address these issues. This research examines the ethical and social issues involved in the trio genome study through semi-structured interviews with RERF scientists, participant observations at public events that RERF organised, and document collection and analysis. As a result, the concept of “individual genomic diversity” emerged with profound implications.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Junji Kayukawa
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/04/26
TI  - Ethical and Social Issues in the Genome Research of A-Bomb Survivors
BT  - Proceedings of the Asia Pacific Sociological Association Conference  (APSA 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 30
EP  - 41
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-680-2_4
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-680-2_4
ID  - Kayukawa2025
ER  -