US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice urged Japan on Saturday to reconsider its ban on US beef sales over mad cow disease and to finalise a deal on US military bases.
The beef ban, a thorny issue for the United States and Japan, was one of the main issues on the agenda at Rice's meeting in Sydney with Japanese Foreign Minster Taro Aso, said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.
"The secretary asked them to reconsider the total ban on beef imports," McCormack told reporters travelling with Rice on her return to Washington, which included a refuelling stop in Pago Pago.
The Kyodo news agency, quoting Japanese officials in Sydney, said Rice told Aso that reinstating the ban on US beef was an excessive reaction after a US meat packing plant mistakenly shipped banned spinal materials in a batch of meat to Japan in January.
McCormack said Aso promised to re-examine the ban.
The two sides also discussed the realignment of US troops based in Japan, which is facing opposition from local residents. Both sides hope a deal will be sealed by the end of March.
Comments
Comments are closed.