TheCattleSite Latest News: Japan
12 January 2007

JAPAN - Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has set the trigger levels of beef safeguard in Japan Fiscal Year (JFY) 2007, proposing that the current Temporary Tariff Measures Law for JFY 2006 be extended to JFY 2007. It is likely...
11 January 2007

JAPAN - U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab called on Japan on Wednesday to start talks later this year on easing its criteria for American beef imports, visiting Japanese farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka said. ...
08 January 2007

JAPAN - US and Japanese scientists reported on Sunday that they had used genetic engineering to produce cattle that resist mad cow disease. ...
20 December 2006

JAPAN - Japanese restaurants are set to urge the government to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports, saying the stringent rules are causing a serious supply crunch, officials said Tuesday. ...
08 December 2006

JAPAN - Japanese government officials Thursday began assessing a U.S. government report recommending corrective steps to be taken by a U.S. meatpacker that made a shipment last month without proper documentation, an official said. ...

JAPAN - Grown steer rates suffered from weaker demand this week with the year drawing to a close. The national Japan ox and medium steer indicators declined by 13¢ and 4¢, to 153¢ and 154¢/kg lwt, respectively....
14 November 2006

JAPAN - A 5-year and 4-month-old female cow, which died last week in northern Japan, has tested positive for mad cow disease, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Monday. This is the 30th case of confirmed bovine spongiform encephalopathy...
09 November 2006

JAPAN - The government on Wednesday suspended beef imports from a U.S. meat processing factory after finding a cattle part that had not been approved for shipment. ...
08 November 2006

JAPAN - Japan has decided to temporarily suspend beef imports from one U.S. plant after a cargo from the plant arrived without the necessary documentation, a Health Ministry official told reporters on Wednesday. ...

JAPAN - Japan has said it will ban imports of beef from one US factory for violating safety guidelines against madcow disease reached after a bitter bilateral feud. Faced with threats of sanctions, Japan in July agreed to resume US beef imports on condition...
25 October 2006

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday endorsed a government plan to start releasing 910 tons of U.S. beef held in customs since the January import ban was imposed, LDP officials said. ...
10 October 2006

JAPAN - The average price of imported beef in Japan hit its highest level on record last week as Australian beef price hikes were coupled with the yen's decline, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said. ...
02 October 2006

JAPAN - A national study of Japanese consumers by Tokyo-based Macromill for the U.S. Meat Export Federation showed that 52 percent agree with the government's decision to resume imports of U.S. beef, and roughly the same number were either positive...
29 September 2006

JAPAN - The authorities in Japan have confirmed the country's 29th case of mad cow disease. The Agriculture Ministry said tests had confirmed that a 75-month-old Holstein cow from a farm on the northern island of Hokkaido had been infected with mad...
27 September 2006

JAPAN - A cow in northern Japan is suspected of having the country's 29th case of mad cow disease, an official said Tuesday. Preliminary tests on the animal at the Ishikari Livestock Hygiene Service Center in Hokkaido prefecture on Japan's northernmost...
18 September 2006

JAPAN - Japanese diners have celebrated the eagerly waited return of gyudon, a beef bowl dish by the Yoshinoya restaurant chain, after Japan lifted a ban on US beef imports. The fast-food chain took on a symbolic status during Japan's ban on US beef...
08 September 2006

JAPAN - Japanese Vice Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Yoshio Kobayashi said Thursday that Japan has no plans at present to ease its rule on U.S. beef imports. Kobayashi made the remark at a press conference after U.S. Agriculture Secretary...
04 September 2006

JAPAN - Consumer demand for U.S. beef is so high that Japanese retailers are running short of supplies, with one popular restaurant chain planning to ration beef to its customers. ...
22 August 2006

JAPAN - It's been weeks since Japan ditched its import ban on U.S. beef and the first shipment went on sale, but American beef is nowhere to be seen at supermarkets here - except this nation's five Costco stores. Many Japanese are worried about the...
16 August 2006

JAPAN - Last month, Japan reopened its doors to US beef, giving hope to exporters that the lucrative market might rebound, but Japanese consumers are not as optimistic. Source: FoodNavigator-USA...

JAPAN - There’s an additional U.S. beef packing plant from which the Japanese will accept shipments. Japan’s ag ministry says Brawley Beef located in California but owned by National Beef in Kansas City, passed inspection last week. It’s...
10 August 2006

JAPAN - U.S. beef went on sale Wednesday for the first time since the lifting of a ban imposed in January over mad cow disease, officials from the stores selling the meat said. Inspectors Tuesday opened the way for sales of U.S. beef to resume in the...
07 August 2006

JAPAN - Japan imported its first shipment of American beef since January on Monday, resuming a once-booming business that has been crippled for nearly three years over fears of mad cow disease. The 5.1 tons of American chilled beef arrived on a cargo...
28 July 2006

JAPAN - Japan would impose an all-out import ban on U.S. beef again if cow parts associated with high risks of mad cow disease infection are found in U.S. beef shipments, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Jiro Kawasaki said Thursday. Kawasaki showed...
14 July 2006

JAPAN - Japanese customs officials have spotted banned beef products as part of turkey and ham shipment from the United States, the Agriculture Ministry said today. A box containing U.S. roast beef was spotted Monday as part of a shipment of more than...
15 May 2006

TOKYO - Japan has confirmed its 26th case of mad cow disease, this time in a 68-month-old Holstein dairy cow on the northern island of Hokkaido. Source: Reuters...
21 April 2006

JAPAN - Tests conducted on samples taken from a 20-month-old steer in Japan found that it was not infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Japan has reported more than 20 cases of BSE since the first case of the brain-destroying disease...
27 March 2006

TOKYO - Kenji Miyoda, savoring a bowl of rice topped with beef from Australia, raw egg and spicy sauce, believes Australian beef is far safer than American beef. "It tastes OK, it's cheap, and it fills me up," the 27-year-old banker said...