Japan Lifts Ban on Imported US Beef
Japan announced on July 27, 2006, that it will start allowing US beef imports once again after suspending it early this year. 34 out of the 35 authorized US beef processing plants have been cleared upon recommendation from Japanese inspectors who toured and evaluated the facilities for compliance with the export agreement.
December 2005 saw Japan lifting the original import ban after 2 years, only to restore it a month later after a bovine spinal cord was found in a shipment of beef.
Japan-US export agreement requires suppliers to export beef only from animals not older than 20 months old and to exclude specified risk materials suspected of being able to spread mad cow disease, including the brain and the spinal cord.
Lifting of the ban eases the recent economic strain between Tokyo and Washington. Japan used to be the largest export market for US beef.
