The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Thursday it has halted poultry meat imports from Thailand following reports that a human has come down with bird flu there.

The farm ministry said Japan imported about 537,000 tons of poultry meat in 2002, most of which came from Thailand, at 187,000 tons, or about 35 percent of the total.

The ministry is looking into the matter via the Japanese Embassy in Bangkok after a Thai senator claimed earlier in the day that a patient in the country has tested positive for avian flu.