The Food Safety Commission's apparent change of heart over the testing regimen for mad cow disease suggests Japan may be closer to resuming beef imports from the United States, though the two sides remain apart.
In accordance with a report last week from the commission, which operates under the Cabinet Office, the government of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi plans to offer to exclude slaughtered beef cattle aged 20 months or younger from bovine spongiform encephalopathy screening tests in the United States, official sources said.
Before talks between Koizumi and President George W. Bush in New York on Sept. 21, both governments will try to make progress on the issue, but this could be difficult as the U.S. side wants to see more cows excluded from screening.