<P> Organ transplantation in Japan is regulated by the 1997 Organ Transplant Law which legalized organ procurement from "brain dead" donors . After an early involvement in organ transplantation that was on a par with developments in the rest of the world, attitudes in Japan altered after a transplant by Dr. Wada in 1968 failed, and a subsequent ban on cadaveric organ donation lasted thirty years . The first transplant after the Organ Transplant Law had defined "brain death" took place in February 1999 . </P> <P> Due to cultural reasons and a relative distrust of modern medicine, the rate of organ donation in Japan is significantly lower than in Western countries . </P> <P> The first organ transplant in Japan took place at Niigata University in 1956 when a kidney was temporarily transplanted to a patient with acute renal failure . In 1964 a permanent and full - scale kidney transplant was successfully undertaken at the University of Tokyo, and by 1992 nearly 9,000 kidney transplants had taken place . In the same year, a liver transplant was performed at Chiba University by Professor Komei Nakayama . The first heart transplant in Japan was conducted at Sapporo Medical University in 1968 by Dr Wada . This operation attracted concerns that Dr. Wada's evaluation of brain death was inappropriate, and even though an investigation of possible criminal liability was dismissed, a distrust of organ transplanting developed, particularly of transplants from brain dead donors . This brought subsequent developments in transplanting to a halt . </P>

Why is organ transplanting rare in japan relative to transplants in other developed nations