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Some US beef gets Japan's thumbs-up

A man looks at the menu as he visits a Yoshinoya restaurant, a popular beef-bowl eatery, in Tokyo yesterday. Many Japanese restaurants, including Yoshinoya, stopped selling US beef when Japan closed its doors to US beef imports. PHOTO: AP

Japan gave the final go-ahead yesterday to resume imports of some US beef after a two-year ban, aver-ting a potential trade war between the close political allies.

But it remains to be seen if the decision will bring closure to the drawn-out saga, with only a small amount of US beef set to return to the shelves in what used to be the US industry's biggest overseas market.

"It was approved to restart the imports," senior vice agriculture minister Mitsuhiro Miyakoshi said after a ministry meeting.

He said the US should comply with the Japanese guidelines which Washington has already sought to relax -- that the slaughtered cattle be no more than 20 months old and risky parts of their carcasses removed.

Japan barred imports of US beef in December 2003 after cases of mad-cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), were discovered in cattle in the country.

It was a devastating blow to the US farming industry as Japan was the No. 1 overseas market for its beef, buying US$1.7 billion worth in 2002. Japan had imposed a similar ban on Canadian beef in May 2003.

The row with Washington turned bitter in October last year when Japan promised to exempt US cows aged 20 months or younger from screening if high-risk parts were removed. Washington interpreted the agreement as a breakthrough but Tokyo said it needed more time to verify how to test the age of the cattle.

The US then applied intense pressure on Japan to resume beef imports, with the issue consistently raised in visits by US envoys to Washington's closest Asian ally.

US farm-state senators had pressed for sanctions worth US$3.1 billion unless Tokyo opened up by the year-end.

It is still unclear, however, if the lifting of the ban will appease disgruntled US farmers and politicians, with Japan expected only to import a fraction of the beef it once took in.

Polls show that many Japanese are unlikely to start eating North American beef again any time soon. A survey published by Kyodo News last week showed 75.2 percent of the Japanese surveyed would be unwilling to eat the beef.

US Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said on Friday that there was nothing to fear despite the discouraging poll figures.

"I can assure the Japanese consumer that beyond a shadow of a doubt, US beef is safe," he said.

"We will be ready to comply with the regulations and rules that we have worked through with Japan on this issue. I've a smile on my face," he said.

Johanns also said that Washington was preparing to lift a ban on Japanese beef to coincide with the imminent resumption of US beef exports to Japan.

The US in 2001 banned Japanese beef imports -- mostly the niche market of luxury Kobe beef -- after Japan became the only Asian country to report mad-cow disease in a herd.

Japan exported US$800,000 worth of beef to the US in 2000.
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