Mike
Well-known member
May 02, 2006]
Nakagawa objects to U.S. plan to reduce No. of cows checked for BSE+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)GENEVA, May 2_(Kyodo) _ Japan's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on Tuesday that reducing the number of cows to be checked for mad cow disease is never likely to be accepted positively in Japan.
Nakagawa made the remark when he met in Geneva with Johanns, who said the United States plans to cut the number of cows to be checked for BSE because the likelihood of the disease's occurrence in the United States is almost nonexistent, Nakagawa said later.
The issue is not even about safety and such a measure is never likely to be accepted positively in Japan, Nakagawa told Johanns.
After the meeting, Johanns said there are 90 million cattle in the United States, and based on past inspection results, experts estimate that the likelihood of BSE occurrence is almost nonexistent.
Johanns also told Nakagawa that the U.S. government's ongoing checks at beef-processing facilities, which are conducted for ending Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports, will be complete in about a week or 10 days.
Based on the check results, Japan is expected to decide next month whether to end its ban on U.S. beef imports.
Nakagawa said Johanns urged Japan to resume imports of U.S. beef at an early date to counter growing anti-Japanese sentiment, showing a copy of an e-mail message by supporters of a House of Representatives member calling for economic sanctions on Japan.
Nakagawa said that the matter is not so much safety as following the rules and said the two had heated exchanges at times.
Japan has banned U.S. beef imports since January when a U.S. veal shipment was found to have contained a spinal column in violation of a bilateral agreement to safeguard against mad cow disease. The ban was reinstituted a month after the initial ban on American beef imports was lifted.
The United States has expressed frustration with Japan's continued ban on U.S. beef imports, while the January incident has apparently led many Japanese consumers to lose confidence in U.S. beef.
Nakagawa objects to U.S. plan to reduce No. of cows checked for BSE+
(Japan Economic Newswire Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge)GENEVA, May 2_(Kyodo) _ Japan's Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Shoichi Nakagawa told U.S. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns on Tuesday that reducing the number of cows to be checked for mad cow disease is never likely to be accepted positively in Japan.
Nakagawa made the remark when he met in Geneva with Johanns, who said the United States plans to cut the number of cows to be checked for BSE because the likelihood of the disease's occurrence in the United States is almost nonexistent, Nakagawa said later.
The issue is not even about safety and such a measure is never likely to be accepted positively in Japan, Nakagawa told Johanns.
After the meeting, Johanns said there are 90 million cattle in the United States, and based on past inspection results, experts estimate that the likelihood of BSE occurrence is almost nonexistent.
Johanns also told Nakagawa that the U.S. government's ongoing checks at beef-processing facilities, which are conducted for ending Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports, will be complete in about a week or 10 days.
Based on the check results, Japan is expected to decide next month whether to end its ban on U.S. beef imports.
Nakagawa said Johanns urged Japan to resume imports of U.S. beef at an early date to counter growing anti-Japanese sentiment, showing a copy of an e-mail message by supporters of a House of Representatives member calling for economic sanctions on Japan.
Nakagawa said that the matter is not so much safety as following the rules and said the two had heated exchanges at times.
Japan has banned U.S. beef imports since January when a U.S. veal shipment was found to have contained a spinal column in violation of a bilateral agreement to safeguard against mad cow disease. The ban was reinstituted a month after the initial ban on American beef imports was lifted.
The United States has expressed frustration with Japan's continued ban on U.S. beef imports, while the January incident has apparently led many Japanese consumers to lose confidence in U.S. beef.