January 28, 2015 Dr. Yasuji Koyama, Director Research & Development Division Kikkoman Corporation 399 Noda, Noda-Shi, Chiba 278-0037 Japan Via e-mail: ykoyama@mail.kikkoman.co.jp Dear Dr. Koyama, Thank you in advance for your time. On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 3 million members and supporters worldwide, I'm writing to ask Kikkoman to join other industry leaders in implementing a policy that prohibits conducting, funding, and commissioning experiments on animals. PETA first contacted you about this issue in 2010, and we were troubled to discover that Kikkoman has recently conducted and funded experiments to verify potential health claims in which feeding tubes were repeatedly forced down rats' throats to administer fermented soy milk1; mice were infected with influenza and killed2; the ligaments in the legs of mice were cut and portions of their knees removed to induce symptoms of osteoarthritis, including chronic joint inflammation3; and mice were given colitis and later killed.4 In the Kikkoman-supported experiments that we wrote to you about in 2010, rabbits were fed high-cholesterol diets in order to induce atherosclerotic lesions and later killed5; rats were force-fed soy sauce through surgically attached stomach tubes, after which they were "sacrificed by decapitation … followed by rapid removal of the brains"6; and guinea pigs' backs were shaved and then 1 Takuya Sato et al., "Fermented Soymilk Increases Voluntary Wheel Running Activity and Sexual Behavior in Male Rats," Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism (2010) 35(6): 749–54. 2 Emiko Kinoshita et al., "Anti-Influenza Virus Effects of Elderberry Juice and Its Fractions," Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry (2012), 76(9): 1633–8. 3 Hailati Aini et al., "Procyanidin B3 Prevents Articular Cartilage Degeneration and Heterotopic Cartilage Formation in a Mouse Surgical Osteoarthritis Model," PLoS One (2012), 7(5): n.p. 4 Tadaomi Kawashima et al., "Double-Stranded RNA of Intestinal Commensal but Not Pathogenic Bacteria Triggers Production of Protective Interferon-β," Immunity (2013), 38: 1187– 97. 5 Jun Yamakoshi et al., "Proanthocyanidin-Rich Extract From Grape Seeds Attenuates the Development of Aortic Atherosclerosis in Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits," Atherosclerosis (1999), 142(1–3): 139–49. 6 Jun Yamakoshi et al., "Antihypertensive and Natriuretic Effects of Less-Sodium Soy Sauce Containing γ-Aminobutyric Acid in Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats," Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry (2007), 71(1): 165–73. irradiated by damaging ultraviolet light before they were killed.7 As we previously explained, PETA is concerned that such experiments have continued despite the availability and superiority of non-animal research methods and the absence of a legal mandate in Japan or the United States requiring animal testing. We are confident that your customers—including many PETA supporters—would be surprised and troubled to learn this as well. We have worked with other major food and beverage companies to end experiments on animals and instead verify health claims using humane, human-relevant, cost-effective, animal-free testing methods. We hope that Kikkoman will join Coca-Cola, ITO EN, Lipton, POM Wonderful, Ocean Spray, Welch's, and other progressive companies that PETA has worked with to establish policies against experiments on animals. May I please hear from you on this important matter? I can be contacted at 646344-0205 or MichaelN@peta.org Sincerely, Michael Niebo Research Associate Laboratory Investigations Department People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals 501 Front St. Norfolk, VA 23510 7 Mineka Yoshimura et al., "Inhibitory Effect of an Ellagic Acid-Rich Pomegranate Extract on Tyrosinase Activity and Ultraviolet-Induced Pigmentation," Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry (2005), 69(12): 2368–73.