JaCVAM was established to promote the use of alternative methods to animal testing in regulatory studies, thereby replacing, reducing, or refining (the 3 Rs) the use of animals wherever possible while meeting the responsibility of the CBSR to ensure the protection of the general public by assessing the safety of chemicals and other materials, as stipulated in the missions of the NIHS. JaCVAM activities are also beneficial to application and approval for the manufacture and sale of pharmaceutical and other products as well as to revisions to standards for cosmetic products. For this purpose, JaCVAM assesses the utility, limitations, and suitability in the regulatory use of the alternative test methods to evaluate the safety of chemicals and other materials and also performs validation studies when necessary. In addition, JaCVAM cooperates and collaborates with similar organizations in related fields, both in Japan and internationally.