The Kumamoto Sanctuary, formally known as the Uto Sanctuary, is located in the Kumamoto Prefecture in Japan. The sanctuary is home to 51 chimpanzees who were all formerly used in research by the Nagoya-based Sanwa Kagaku Kenkyusho Co. pharmaceutical company. The company helped initiate and run the sanctuary after ending its use of chimpanzees in 2006; Japan placed an unofficial ban on invasive chimpanzee research that same year. Although invasive research is prohibited, cognitive and behavorial research behavioral involving the chimpanzees is allowed. In 2011, the Uto Sanctuary’s name was changed to the Kumamoto Sanctuary and is now under the authority of Kyoto University.

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