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Japan to Reimpose Ban on All US Beef Imports

Posted on: Friday, 20 January 2006, 09:10 CST

By Chikafumi Hodo

TOKYO -- Japan will reimpose a ban on all U.S. beef imports just a month after lifting it, following the discovery of animal parts in a recent shipment that should have been removed due to the risk of mad cow disease.

The Agriculture Ministry said on Friday the ban would remain until it receives more information from the United States. A U.S. embassy official in Tokyo said the U.S. regretted the incident and would investigate it.

Japan had initially stopped all purchases of beef from the United States after a case of the brain-wasting mad cow disease in December 2003, halting annual trade worth about $1.4 billion. The ban lasted two years and became an irritant in otherwise close and friendly U.S.-Japan relations.

The latest incident, which also comes as U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick is due to visit Japan on Sunday and Monday, could alarm Japanese consumers as well as raise questions about Tokyo's decision to lift the ban.

"It is regrettable that the United States has failed abide by the agreement," a farm ministry official told a briefing, referring to a deal in October 2004 between Japan and the U.S. on the resumption of beef imports.

"Any decision (to resume imports) would be after we receive information from the U.S. government," the official said.

A total of 390 kg (860 lb) of beef imported from a meatpacker in New York was found to contain parts of a spinal cord when it was inspected on arrival at Narita International Airport near Tokyo, a Farm Ministry official said earlier.

Experts believe humans can contract a fatal variant of mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), by eating contaminated meat.

Japan only imports U.S. beef from cattle aged 20 months or younger. It requires all animal material linked to mad cow, including the spinal cord, to be totally removed.

Washington acted quickly to try to ease concern in what was the United States' top overseas beef market prior to the ban.

The United States is expected to conduct a full investigation into the shipment, the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo said in a statement.

"We deeply regret the incident occurred. We expect that there will be a full investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and we look forward to the results of that investigation," said the statement, read by an embassy spokesman.

The United States will also work closely with Japanese authorities to ensure that there is no repeat of this mistake, the statement said.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said earlier on Friday that Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa wanted the United States to act firmly.

"He also recommended, because preserving food safety and security for the people is extremely important, calling on the United States to make a strong response," Koizumi told reporters.

Small quantities of beef from the United States have started to enter Japan, but consumers remain worried that safeguards there are not up to Japanese standards.

(Additional reporting by Linda Sieg and Miho Yoshikawa)

Source: REUTERS

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