The ban on shipments of eggs and chickens from a poultry farm in Yamaguchi Prefecture hit by a highly virulent strain of bird flu may be lifted Thursday if there are no further signs of the disease.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry's action would be in response to a request by the Yamaguchi Prefectural Government to lift the ban as soon as possible now that the prefecture has completed the required steps to deal with infectious diseases.
Restrictions have been placed on transporting eggs and chickens from within a 30-km radius of the farm. Twenty other farming households are raising poultry in the Yamaguchi Prefecture side of the zone. The prefecture had confirmed as of Saturday that no chickens in the neighboring farms had been infected.
The zone also straddles Shimane Prefecture. There are no other poultry farms in that area, but 135 households were breeding chickens.
The Shimane Prefectural Government decided Saturday to lift its voluntarily imposed regulation on chicken and egg shipments within the restricted zone.
The ministry will hold a meeting Wednesday to make a final decision on lifting the ban.