Farm minister Yoshiyuki Kamei on Friday brushed aside a U.S. request for outside mediation aimed at breaking the impasse over Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports.
Kamei, minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, said the proposal to involve the Paris-based Organization for Animal Health is not in keeping with the dispute-solving process the two sides have adopted thus far.
Kamei told a news conference that the two sides have held dialogue on ways to regain Japanese consumer confidence in U.S. beef.