Abstract
This report seeks to discuss the treatment of case reports in Japan in terms of the Private Information Protection Law, government guidelines, and those of academic societies. The following three questions will be discussed in this report: （1） Should case reports be treated as academic research?（2） Can the content of case reports be kept anonymous? and （3） How, and from whom should consent be obtained? Regarding issue （1）, the Private Information Protection Law and the associated governmental guideline would not apply if case reports are to be considered academic research. However, it should be noted that there is no specific requlation even when the law suggests reseachers to refer to other applicable guidelines. If the society is to draft its own case report guidelines, similar guidelines from other academic societies should be examined to identify common issues among medical specialties, as well as issues specific to the Japan Society for Familial Tumors that must be dealt with uniquely. Extensive discussion is required, especially with regard to questions （2） and （3） so that new regulations can be appropriately drafted and implemented.
