YOKOHAMA, Japan -- The U.S. interim envoy in Japan said Thursday that Washington is "not happy" as Tokyo has groundlessly continued to restrict U.S. beef imports due to fear of mad cow disease.
The comment by James Zumwalt, charge d'affaires ad interim in the U.S. Embassy, came as Japan has limited U.S. beef imports to those from cattle aged 20 months or less since the first U.S. case of the disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy, was found in 2003.
"We are not happy with the present restrictions on U.S. beef exports," Zumwalt told a seminar held in Yokohama. As for the age rule, he said, "We don't believe there is any scientific basis."
In a related development, the Japanese government announced Wednesday that it has suspended beef imports from a U.S. plant after banned materials were found in a few of the packages it sent to Japan.
Under a bilateral accord, U.S. beef exporters are required to remove so-called "risk materials" that include brains and spinal columns and are feared to cause the disease.
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Zumwalt underlined the impact on the U.S.-Japan trade relationship. U.S. beef exports to Japan are currently around a quarter of the level before the age restriction was imposed, he said.
But he also expressed optimism that the discord between the two countries will not develop into a contentious trade dispute, saying, "We need to work through with the Japanese government."
Zumwalt, who was economic minister at the embassy in Tokyo between 2004 and 2006, assumed charge d'affaires duties after former U.S. Ambassador Thomas Schieffer left Japan in January, pending the arrival of a new envoy.
U.S. President Barack Obama has picked John Roos, a California-based lawyer and his major fundraiser, as the new ambassador to Tokyo.
Zumwalt said the specific date of Roos' arrival in Japan is not yet known.
