TOKYO - Japan will not lower its beef safety standards to suit the needs of American producers, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Tuesday, defending himself from criticism the government has failed to conduct proper food inspections.
Japan halted U.S. beef imports last month after the discovery of banned backbones in a shipment of American veal.
The fresh halt to imports was a harsh turnaround for the U.S. beef business in Japan. Tokyo banned American beef in December 2003 after the first U.S. case of mad cow disease and lifted the embargo only in December.
Koizumi told lawmakers Tuesday that Japan would not change its policy of importing American beef only from cows 20 months old or younger, despite evidence that cows up to 30 months old are free of mad cow disease. "Americans should understand that Japan's safety standard is strict," he said. "They should understand that Japan's stricter standard only allows cows younger than 20 months, even though 30 months are considered safe elsewhere."
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