Japanese ethos and organ transplantation from brain-dead donors

A trend observed since the 1980s in the Japanese academic scene is the overturning of Hippocratic ethics by American individualistic bioethics. However, the Japanese ethos is more sympathetic to personalistic bioethics rooted in Hippocratic ethics, which assumes the universal view of the 'interdependent self' clearly marked off from the 'independent self' specific to American culture. In Japan, organ transplantation from brain-dead donors is promoted despite the lack of consensus on whether brain death signifies death of the individual. From the viewpoint of personalistic bioethics, this situation is problematic because it violates the dictum primum non nocere of the Hippocratic Oath. We should therefore first establish consensus on brain death and then promote a 'culture of donation' based on human dignity.