Japan is preparing to ease restrictions on U.S. beef imports as concerns about mad cow disease receded and domestic cattle production fell after the nation’s worst nuclear disaster since World War II.
Japan, the biggest buyer of American beef before an outbreak in 2003, restricts U.S. beef imports to cattle aged 20 months or younger on concern that older animals may be at higher risk for the brain-wasting disease, also known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The government is considering raising the age limit to 30 months, said two ministry officials who declined to be named because of department policy.
The new rule may boost purchases from companies including Tyson Foods Inc. and Cargill Inc., and contribute to President Barack Obama’s target to double exports in five years and create more jobs. The restriction, relaxed in 2005 to allow meat from young cattle, caused about $1 billion in lost sales a year, according to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.
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