# KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes

License: restricted (LicenseRef-Kanehisa-Laboratories-terms); Mdexa hosting: link-only. Second pass: redistribution: [甲类] 学术用户利用 KEGG 对外提供服务也须取得学术服务提供者许可（含于 FTP 学术订阅）；向他人提供被涉及且须另行授权，应为 conditional。

- Commercial use: Conditional · Derivatives: Unclear · Redistribution: Conditional · File on Mdexa: No
- License status: Restricted (LicenseRef-Kanehisa-Laboratories-terms)
- Mdexa hosting: Link only — License restricted, judged by public rules and checked by a second-pass model. Link only.
- Last verified: 2026-11-14
- Card: https://mdexa.com/datasets/kegg/

## Key facts

- Domain: Genomics and omics
- Content type: Databases
- Size: —
- Language: English
- Modality: Text
- Publisher: Kanehisa Laboratories
- Year: —

## Commercial use of KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes

- Commercial use: Conditional.
The overall verdict takes the strictest part; the parts carry different licenses, listed below.
- License status: Restricted.
- License part: main data — Restricted (NOASSERTION)
- License part: KEGG website — Permissive (NOASSERTION)
- License part: KEGG MEDICUS — Permissive (NOASSERTION)
- License part: KEGG FTP — Restricted (NOASSERTION)
Verdicts record what sources state and are not legal advice.

## KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes license evidence

a restricted part cannot be separated or the boundary is unstated: strictest part applies

- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s02 (page) — "KEGG is an original database product, copyright Kanehisa Laboratories." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s02 (page) — "Although best efforts are always applied when developing KEGG products, Kanehisa Laboratories makes no warrant nor assumes any legal responsibility for the accuracy or usefulness of KEGG or any information contained therein." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s02 (page) — "Academic users may freely use the KEGG website at https://www.kegg.jp/ or its mirror site at GenomeNet https://www.genome.jp/kegg/ ." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s02 (page) — "Academic users who utilize KEGG for providing services are requested to obtain an academic service provider license, which is included in the KEGG FTP academic subscription ." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s02 (page) — "Non-academic users must understand that KEGG is not a public database, nor is it a publicly funded database." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s02 (page) — "Non-academic use of KEGG requires a commercial license." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s02 (page) — "Please contact Pathway Solutions , which operates KEGG FTP sites and a KEGG mirror website, for license agreements." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Dataset page**: Statement found in snapshot s10 (page) — "The KEGG FTP site for academic users is available to subscribers only." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/download/ (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Dataset page**: Statement found in snapshot s10 (page) — "A subset of KEGG MEDICUS is freely available at the GenomeNet FTP site." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/download/ (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Dataset page**: Statement found in snapshot s10 (page) — "Non-academic users are requested to obtain a license agreement for using KEGG." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/download/ (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Website footer**: Statement found in snapshot s10 (page) — "Copyright 1995-2026 Kanehisa Laboratories" — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/download/ (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s04 (page) — "Restriction: KEGG API at rest.kegg.jp is made available only for academic use by academic users." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/ (2026-11-13; Page opened)
- **Terms of use page**: Statement found in snapshot s04 (page) — "Please limit your API calls up to 3 times per second." — https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/ (2026-11-13; Page opened)

## Source and lineage

—

## Known issues with KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes

—

## Preflight

Not run (data not ingested).

## Downloading KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes and API access

Mdexa does not serve files. Original source:
- https://www.kegg.jp/
- https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html

### Access recipe

- Latest: 120.0 (2026-10-01)
- Registration required: https://www.pathway.jp/en/academic.html

## Citing KEGG: Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes

No recommended citation text.

## Machine-readable

- JSON: https://mdexa.com/datasets/kegg.json
- 2026-11-14 Listed on 2026-11-14. Judged by public rules and checked a second time before listing. The two passes disagreed; the stricter reading is carried: Second pass: redistribution: [甲类] 学术用户利用 KEGG 对外提供服务也须取得学术服务提供者许可（含于 FTP 学术订阅）；向他人提供被涉及且须另行授权，应为 conditional。

## Practical information

### Content scope

- KEGG is an original database product, copyright Kanehisa Laboratories.
  > KEGG is an original database product, copyright Kanehisa Laboratories.
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13)

### Identifiers

- All prescription drug products marketed in Japan are given KEGG DRUG D numbers under the classification of 9-character codes named YK codes.
  > All prescription drug products marketed in Japan are given KEGG DRUG D numbers under the classification of 9-character codes named YK codes
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/docs/relnote.html (2026-11-13)
- NCBI taxonomy IDs are used for individual KEGG organisms and for organism groups at different taxonomic ranks, and links to and from KEGG organism codes or T numbers are made available in the KEGG API.
  > NCBI taxonomy IDs are used not only for individual KEGG organisms, but also for organism groups at different levels of taxonomic ranks. Links to/from KEGG organism codes (or T numbers) are made available in KEGG API.
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/docs/relnote.html (2026-11-13)
- The API update history for December 1, 2024 states that the YK code was included as an outside identifier.
  > December 1, 2024 YK code included as an outside identifier
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/ (2026-11-13)

### Access

- Web API: https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/
- Bulk download: https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/download/
- Web interface only: https://www.kegg.jp/
- Web interface only: https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html
- Web interface only: https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/

### Versions

- The release notes list Release 120.0 dated October 1, 2026.
  > Release 120.0, October 1, 2026
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/docs/relnote.html (2026-11-13)
- The FTP site is updated weekly and contains the entire set of KEGG data, as summarized in the Readme files.
  > The weekly updated FTP site contains the entire set of KEGG data as summarized in the following Readme files.
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/download/ (2026-11-13)
- The reaction module (rmodule) dataset was moved from the MODULE database to the REACTION database.
  > The reaction module (rmodule) dataset has been moved from the MODULE database to the REACTION database.
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/docs/relnote.html (2026-11-13)
- The term "Virus ortholog cluster (Voc)" was changed to "Virus ortholog group (Vog)" to distinguish it from clusters of positionally correlated genes along the chromosome.
  > The term "Virus ortholog cluster (Voc)" has been changed to "Virus ortholog group (Vog)" in order to distinguish from clusters of positionally correlated genes along the chromosome, such as gene clusters, KO clusters and Vog clusters.
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/docs/relnote.html (2026-11-13)
- The API update history lists that the service moved from HTTP to HTTPS on June 1, 2022.
  > June 1, 2022 Moved from HTTP to HTTPS
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/ (2026-11-13)
- The API update history states that RPAIR was removed on October 1, 2016.
  > October 1, 2016 RPAIR removed
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/rest/ (2026-11-13)

### Suited for

- The text states that academic users may freely use the KEGG website at the kegg.jp address or its GenomeNet mirror.
  > Academic users may freely use the KEGG website at https://www.kegg.jp/ or its mirror site at GenomeNet https://www.genome.jp/kegg/ .
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13)

### Not suited for

- The text states that non-academic use of KEGG requires a commercial license.
  > Non-academic use of KEGG requires a commercial license.
  https://www.kegg.jp/kegg/legal.html (2026-11-13)

### No sourced statement yet

Known defects and misuse

## Continue in this database

This record is one of 109 processed and verified records (datasets, data resources and open models). To find others, call `https://mcp.mdexa.com/v1/datasets?q=<words>` or connect the MCP server at `https://mcp.mdexa.com/mcp`; no key is needed for 20 calls per minute. Rows are under 1 KB; an empty result means "not listed". For a list of items, one batch check (free account) returns a report. Guide: /agents.md. Similar records: AlphaFold Protein Structure Database (https://mdexa.com/datasets/alphafold-db/); GEO (https://mdexa.com/datasets/geo/); gnomAD (https://mdexa.com/datasets/gnomad/).