Japan considers compulsory ID chips for pets

Jun 01, 2019 | News On Japan

Jun 01, 2019 (NHK) - Japan is moving to introduce legislation that would oblige pet shops, breeders and other sellers of cats and dogs to implant the animals with electronic chips. The system will be used to track down the owners of stray pets.

A Lower House committee agreed on Friday to submit a draft bill to a Lower House plenary session to revise the law on the welfare and management of animals.

The Japan Veterinary Medical Association says the cylindrical chip is about 12 millimeters long and about 2 millimeters in diameter, and is designed to be injected in the shoulder area with a syringe.

The chip contains a number that is allocated to each animal. This number can be read with a dedicated device.

The draft bill also recommends implanting ID chips in pets that already have owners.

The proposed legislation would make it easier to discover the owners of stray pets after disasters and pets who have been abandoned.

The draft bill would effectively ban the sale and display of dogs and cats that are less than 56 days old -- an increase from the current 49 days. Experts say that animals separated from their parents soon after birth tend to snap and bark at people as they grow, and such pets tend to be abandoned by their owners.

The draft revision is expected to be approved by the Lower House plenary session next week and will then be sent to the Upper House.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.