CMIC Group was the first company to provide CRO (contract research organization) services in Japan. Relevant laws and rules had not been established when the group was first established. The CRO Study Group (which later became the Japan CRO Association) was formed by Mr. Kazuo Nakamura, the current CEO of CMIC Group, and others to conduct promotion and public relations activities and to negotiate with the authorities for the establishment of CROs in Japan. Later, when the new Good Clinical Practice (GCP) regulations came into force in 1997, CROs gained legal ground for the first time, and since then demands for CRO services have rapidly increased. We believe that CMIC’s history directly reflects the history of CROs in Japan.