TOKYO, Feb. 7 — Japan may conditionally lift bans on imports of British beef this year, ending a 22-year old ban after a 1986 outbreak of mad cow disease in the UK. On Feb. 6, the Cabinet Offices committee on food safety approved a report warranting the safety of British beef. The committee concluded that it would be safe to eat British beef if it comes from cattle under 30 months old and risky parts of beef cows, such as tonsils, marrow and spine, should be removed after the animal is slaughtered. The health ministry will soon dispatch officials to the UK to inspect beef processing factories that have a … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Feb. 3 — Some Japanese MPs want to bring a tradition back along with medals at the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics in 2020: flowers. At the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, instead of flowers, medalists have been given a doll of the games mascot wearing a gold, silver or bronze hat. Paralympic medal winners will be also given a doll of their games mascot. The move started from the 2016 Rio Olympics which cut flower bouquets for athletes due to Brazil’s eco-friendly Olympics pledge, as environmental problems have been coming to light in recent Olympic Games. As Japan gears up to welcome the world to the Olympic … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Jan. 31 — Japan’s meat imports broke the 2 million metric ton barrier last year for the first time since records began in 1991, with flat domestic production leading to strong import demand, data from the finance ministry shows. Japanese imports of red meat and poultry totaled 2.07 million metric tons in 2017, exceeding the previous record of 1.94 million metric tons in 2000. Domestic pork production has been slowly recovering following the 2014 outbreaks of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED), leading to increased pork imports and intensifying competition especially in the chilled market. PED is a viral disease that has a high fatality rate for infected piglets. “The PED … Continue reading →

TOKYO, Feb. 2 — Japan’s food exports to Europe as well as Japanese food makers who have their European base in the UK should prepare for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, an international lawyer has warned. Japan’s agriculture ministry organized a seminar on Feb. 1 in Tokyo to discuss what may be the economic impact of Brexit on Japanese food exports and Japanese food companies. According to the British embassy in Tokyo, there are around 1,000 Japanese companies in the UK. Many Japanese companies have made the UK as their European base because its EU membership provides tariff-free trade and regulatory aliment with the EU market. Now, they are … Continue reading →