Japan halts gene research on athletes over privacy concerns

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) – A Japanese sports institution has shelved its investigation into the relationship between the genes of the country’s top athletes and their performance, fearing that their personal information could be misused, Tokyo-based Kyodo News reported on Monday.

The Japan Institute of Sports Sciences launched the investigation, which also includes study of injury risk, in 2017, but suspended it in fiscal 2022, following growing concerns about possible misuse of athletes’ personal information, the agency said, citing an unnamed source familiar with the matter.

The decision to halt the research took into account the opinions of external experts, but over 2,000 athletes who took part in the research were not informed about the details of the study.

"After considering whether we could fully take responsibility for the results, we decided it would be better to proceed with caution. Once we have a clearer future direction, we will report it to the athletes who cooperated," an unnamed official was quoted as saying.

The research was launched as a "legacy" project for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, which were scheduled for 2020 but postponed by one year due to coronavirus pandemic.​​​​​​​