on the winnerlist today?, page-2

japanese decision green today, stands to gain (even if short term) from Japanese decision on US beef.


TOKYO (Reuters) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick was quoted as telling Japanese Agriculture Minister Shoichi Nakagawa that a beef shipment to Japan that resulted in a renewed ban on imports was an "unacceptable mistake," a U.S. Embassy official said.

Zoellick, who met with Nakagawa for about an hour in Tokyo on Sunday, also expressed deep regret, the official said.

"The U.S. has a commitment to Japan regarding beef exports and that is a commitment that we take seriously," the official quoted Zoellick as adding.

Japan on Friday renewed a ban on U.S. beef imports just a month after lifting it, following the discovery in a shipment of meat of spinal material, which Japan requires to be removed to reduce the risk of mad cow disease.