• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Japan Not to Import American Beef Without Further U.S. Steps: Abe

Posted on: Saturday, 21 January 2006, 18:00 CST

Tokyo, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)--Japan will not resume American beef imports until the United States takes additional steps to ensure compliance with the safety requirements for exporting beef to Japan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Saturday.

At a press conference in the western Japan city of Shimonoseki, Abe said that the government must ensure that no beef containing parts with high risks of mad cow disease infections will enter Japan.

His remarks came after Japan Friday suspended imports of U.S. beef again because it found a high-risk part in beef included in a shipment that arrived in Japan the same day.

Last month, Japan partially lifted its two-year ban on American beef on condition that all high-risk parts, such as brain and spinal cords, are removed. The ban was imposed in December 2003, after the discovery of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease, formally called bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

Abe said he will urge the United States to conduct a thorough investigation into the cause of the latest safety requirement breach and take steps to prevent the recurrence of the incident in his meeting with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick, scheduled for Monday.

Meanwhile, Japanese government officials agreed that there is no need for now to change the requirements for American beef imports.END

Source: Jiji Press English News Service

More News in this Category