TOKYO AP An American physicist who provoked controversy at home by announcing plans to clone humans has found a haven for his research: Japan where there is no law that bans what he wants to do. Richard Seed who has three Harvard degrees but no medical license announced Tuesday that he is preparing to open up an animal cloning lab and fertility clinic in Japan both of which are eventually aimed at making human clones. ``It seems all countries or political groups have some reservations on human cloning. But there is an existing patient demand for the service'' Seed said. In the United States a five-year moratorium announced by President Bill Clinton to ban cloning has apparently been observed by most mainstream scientists although Congress has failed to act on legislation to outlaw the procedure. In Japan there hasn't been nearly as much national debate about the ethics and safety of cloning as in the United States and elsewhere. Japan's Science and Technology Agency appointed a 16-member panel last January to ponder the ethics of cloning. Last year the Education Ministry followed the United States' lead by freezing government funds for research on human cloning. But with a domestic cattle industry squeezed by imports of cheaper beef Japanese scientists and agricultural officials see cloning as the answer to keeping the nation's small farms competitive by genetically copying animals on a large-scale basis. Some officials remain nervous about taking the next step up the food chain however. ``In Japan there is no law that prohibits human cloning'' said Tomoko Kitajima a Health and Welfare Ministry official in charge of maternal and child health. ``But applying cloning technology in humans is a problem not only because of its safety concerns but also ethically and socially.'' Seed said he wants to change the minds of naysayers. ``There is always a risk in the first time you do anything'' he said. Already some dlrs 15 million or about 75 percent of the estimated cost for Seed's project has been raised said James Ryan a Tokyo-based consultant for the physicist. The group has obtained land on Japan's northernmost island of Hokkaido and expects to open its animal cloning lab there as early as next August. Seed's project will also provide treatment for infertile couples in Japan where most U.S.-style treatments are not yet available. No Japanese law prohibits the practice but ethical standards set by the Japan Society of Obstetrics and Gynecology restricts in-vitro insemination to married couples. An egg removed for fertilization cannot be implanted in another woman in Japan. ``Our goal is to help people'' group consultant Ryan said. ``Demand for infertility will overcome all obstacles.'' Seed who had earlier said he was planning to clone himself said he has changed his mind: ``I switched to a clone of my wife because people say if I clone myself it would be ego trip.'' The cloning of his wife Gloria is still in research stage and will take another two years or so before completion he said. ``The clone is an identical twin of a donor just 40 years younger'' Seed said. ``If you don't tell nobody will know. Everybody has seen children that look just like parents.'' UR; may APW19981201.0390.txt.body.html APW19981201.0520.txt.body.html