Tokyo wants answers on U.S. beef
Usatoday.com
TOKYO (AP) — Japan wants to see the results of a survey of U.S. meatpacking plants before starting talks on reopening its market to American beef, Japan’s agriculture minister said Tuesday.
Japan banned U.S. meat in January over worries about mad cow disease, and U.S. officials are in Tokyo this week to restart talks on lifting the ban.
Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa said the negotiations could start as soon as Wednesday — if Tokyo gets the answers to questions it had about 37 meatpacking plants.
“We only received an overview but there are things we want to confirm,” Nakagawa told reporters. “We want to hold talks once we receive answers.”
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