Japan will keep its ban on US beef imports and a lack of US measures on the issue may mean that restrictions on shipments won't end for "some time," said Vice Minister for Agriculture Mamoru Ishihara.
"We thoroughly explained our position to the US, and until the US takes the measures needed, it could take some time for this issue to be resolved," he said.
Japan on Friday refused to end a ban on imports of US beef after talks with US Agriculture Department Under Secretary J.B. Penn and his delegation. The two sides plan to meet next month to resume talks, Penn said. The Japanese side said no date had been set.
Japan says US steps to guard against the disease and prevent human consumption of infected meat aren't stringent enough. It wants the US to agree to blanket testing for mad cow disease of all cattle it slaughters each year. The US insists its meat is safe and wants Japan to restart imports worth more than US$1 billion a year without expanding testing.
RSS