TOKYO (AP) - Japan will halt U.S. beef imports following the discovery of material considered at risk of mad cow disease in a shipment from the United States, Kyodo News agency reported Friday.
Yumiko Sakurai, an official with the Japanese Agriculture Ministry, said she could not immediately confirm the report, but that the ministry was preparing a statement.
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's office said Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa has recommended a total halt to U.S. beef imports. Nakagawa said earlier Friday it was possible that material from cattle backbones was included in beef recently imported from the United States, according to Yumiko Sakurai, a ministry official.