About Kumamoto Sanctuary
Organization
History
Steering Committee of Kumamoto Sanctuary

First Commissioners Tenured Staff of WRC
Miho Murayama
Professor, Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University
Satoshi Hirata
Professor, Wildlife Research Center, Kyoto University
Second Commissioners Tenured Staff of Kyoto University
Hiroo Imai
Professor, Center for the Evolutionary Origins of Human Behavior, Kyoto University
Third Commissioners Extramural Academics
Yasuhiro Yoshikawa
Chiba Institute of Science
Masayuki Tanaka
Kyoto City Zoo
Hideko Takeshita
Otemon Gakuin University
Fourth Commissioners
Shūsaku Isono
President, Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd.
Akihiro Morioka
Managing Director, Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd.
Our History
  • 1970年代 医科学の肝炎研究者が野生チンパンジーを輸入して医学感染実験を実施
  • 1978
    Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co., Ltd. (Sanwa) established Kumamoto Primates Research Park to provide a home for chimpanzees formerly involved in biomedical research.
  • 1998年11月 生体の侵襲的医学感染実験を阻止するためにSAGAが結成される
  • 2002年4月 生体実験に代わる死後標本利用を促進するためにGAINが結成される
  • 2006年10月 三和が侵襲的医学感染実験の廃絶を宣言
  • 1 April 2007
    Chimpanzee Sanctuary Uto (CSU) was established by Sanwa.
  • 1 August 2007
    The Department of Welfare and Longevity Research, endowed by Sanwa, was established at the Primate Research Institute (PRI), Kyoto University. CSU began its operations through a close collaboration between this department and Sanwa.
  • 1 April 2008
    The Wildlife Research Center (WRC) was established at Kyoto University, and the endowed research department was transferred from the PRI to the WRC.
  • 1 August 2011
    All facilities and residents of CSU were transferred to Kyoto University, and Kumamoto Sanctuary (KS) was launched as part of the WRC.
  • 15 May 2012
    Welcomed the final three chimpanzees in Japan formerly involved in biomedical studies.
  • January 2013
    Welcomed eight chimpanzees from Hayashibara Co., Ltd.
  • November 2013
    Welcomed four bonobos from San Diego Zoo, USA.
  • May 2014
    Welcomed two bonobos from Cincinnati Zoo, USA.
  • 2026
    Currently, KS is home to 48 chimpanzees and 6 bonobos from diverse backgrounds. We remain committed to maximizing the physical and psychological well-being of every resident.
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