March 5, 2004

Japan Hesitant In Resumption Of US Beef Talks

A top Japanese farm ministry official said on Thursday Japan will not be following up on negotiations with the United States following scandalous revelations in which the USDA handled its first mad cow disease case, the Kyodo news service reported.
 
Mamoru Ishihara, vice minister for agriculture, forestry and fisheries, told a press conference that Japan is unlikely to agree to resume negotiations without the U.S. clearing up the suspicion that a Holstein cow confirmed to be infected with mad cow disease last December was not a so-called "downer," cattle which are too sick or injured to walk, Kyodo reported.
 
The suspicion has been taken up in the U.S. Congress and Phyllis Fong, inspector general of the U.S. Agriculture Department, has launched a criminal investigation into the allegation.
 
"I do not think they (the U.S.) will enter discussions with Japan before the investigation by the inspector is settled," Ishihara said, Kyodo reported.
 
Rejecting Japan's demand for blanket testing of all cattle to determine if they are free of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), the U.S. government has argued that the safety of beef products can be ensured if high-risk cattle such as downers are under strict monitoring.
 
Ishihara indicated the result of the investigation could undermine the credibility of such a U.S. policy on BSE, Kyodo reported.
 
"If the allegation is true, it means the basis of the arguments of the U.S. Agricultural Department on BSE will change," he said, Kyodo reported.
 
The two countries held talks in January, but failed to reach an agreement on whether Japan will lift its import ban and only agreed to continue talks without deciding any specific schedule, Kyodo reported.
 
Tokyo imposed the import ban soon after Washington announced the discovery of the first U.S. case of mad cow disease on Dec. 23.
 
As a condition for resuming U.S. beef imports, Japan has asked the U.S. to test all slaughtered cattle for BSE, but the U.S. has rejected the call, saying it is scientifically unreasonable.