Japan Press Weekly

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2012 April 25 - May 8 [ECONOMY]

Japan still wants to join TPP even with another BSE cow found in US?

A symposium questioning the easing of the present counter-BSE measures took place in Tokyo on April 24. Just recently, a BSE-infected cow was discovered in the United States.

Currently, the U.S. administration is pressing the Noda Cabinet to remove or relax domestic regulations on U.S. beef imports as a prerequisite for Japan’s participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

Japan allows imports of U.S. beef aged only up to 20 months old and beef with all specified risk materials (SRM) removed. However, the Japanese government is considering easing such restrictions in response to the U.S. demand to do so.

At the symposium, co-op worker Hara Eiji stated that relaxing the rules to 30 months old is, in effect, tantamount to the lifting of the ban on U.S. beef imports because the majority of cattle shipments in the U.S. is composed of young cows.

Hara regarded the U.S. firewall against BSE as inappropriate as the U.S. authorities conduct BSE tests only on cattle aged 30 months or older, do not remove all parts of SRMs, and leave the possibility for meat-and-bone meal (MBM) for chickens and pigs to be mixed in with cattle feed.

Admitting that he himself is not an expert on BSE problems, he said, “Without adequately addressing our doubts, we cannot easily say ‘Okay’ to U.S. beef imports.”

Ueda Izumi, who works at another co-op, said that she thinks Prime Minister Noda has gone to Washington offering loosened-regulations as a “present”. Pointing out that BSE infection in humans is incurable, she said, “It is necessary to take precautions and to scientifically deal with the BSE issue. I feel resentment towards the recent government caving in to political pressure.”

Tani Seiji of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations pointed out that in Japan, no BSE infection has been found in cattle born after 2003, the year Japan burned all the remaining MBM. He said, “The important point is how to maintain this condition offering consumer safety.”