Japan rejects US call for talks on beef restrictions
Agence France-Presse
Tuesday August 1, 2006
TOKYO (AFP) - Japan's farm minister has said that it is too soon for talks with the United States on lifting partial restrictions on beef imports, due to consumer fears over mad cow disease.
Japan last week ended an import ban on US beef but only for meat from cattle aged up to 20 months, with brain, spinal cord and other risk materials removed before shipment.
The United States welcomed the resumption but called for talks later this year to raise the age limit to 30 months.
"We can't say 'okay, let's talk' when we are still making efforts to gain public understanding on the resumption of US beef imports," Farm Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told reporters.
"Japan has its own safety rules, and even these rules are not unanimously supported by our citizens," he added.
Japan, formerly the top market for US beef, has halted US beef imports twice since December 2003 due to mad cow health scares.
A US shipment in January contained animal spines, leading Japan abruptly to bar all US beef just one month after it had first lifted the embargo.
Japan is the only Asian country to have confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the brain-wasting condition commonly known as mad cow disease, in its own herd.
Unlike the United States, Japan tests every cow to be slaughtered for meat.
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Farm minister reluctant about talks to expand U.S. beef exports
Kyodo News
August 1, 2006
Japan
(AP) _ Japan is not yet ready to accept a U.S. request for talks this fall, where the U.S. is expected to ask Japan to ease terms for Japan's imports of American beef, the agricultural minister said.
Japan on Thursday announced the resumption of U.S. beef imports, ending a ban that virtually lasted two and half years due to concerns about mad cow disease and removing a strain in relations with Washington.
Under an agreement between the countries, all U.S. beef shipped to Japan must come from cattle less than 20 months old, and no brain or spinal material can be included because the disease can be carried in that tissue.
U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said in a statement last week that he has asked Japan to hold talks this fall to "discuss the next steps toward strengthening our beef trading relationship and graduating to standards based in science," without elaborating.
Kyodo News agency reported that the U.S. has asked Japan to hold talks to raise the age limit of cattle.
Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said Tuesday that it is too early for Japan to hold such talks as the country just decided to resume the imports.
"We are still making efforts to gain understanding of the Japanese people" about the resumption of U.S. beef imports, Nakagawa said at a press conference.
"It's hard for us to say at this point that we agree to a request for talks this fall," he said at a press conference.
The latest ban was imposed in January when Japanese inspectors checking a veal shipment found banned parts believed to be at risk for the illness. It was lifted after Japanese representatives toured U.S. facilities to ensure they met safety guidelines.
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