Japan Will Not Lift Import Ban on Canadian Beef

Despite Canada’s request at a meeting on Tuesday, Japan refused to remove an import ban on Canadian beef. The Japanese parliamentary secretary for agriculture, forestry and fisheries said that Japan did not want to risk having beef infected with mad cow disease (or bovine spongiform encephalopathy) entering the country. Lyle Vanclief, the Canadian agriculture minister, claimed that Japan’s tough stance is not justified and goes beyond the international guidelines as outlined by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE). Vanclief had argued that since May 20, there have been no additional cases of mad cow disease found in Canada.