Japan's ban on U.S. beef imports will be the subject of working-level talks between the two countries next week in Colorado, the farm ministry said Friday.
The last official working-level meeting on the beef issue between Japan and the United States was held in July, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry said Friday. The next round will be held Monday and Tuesday, it said.
Japan banned beef imports from the U.S. after the discovery of the first case of mad cow disease there in December, and insisted that U.S. beef cattle be tested for the disease in the same way as cattle in Japan.
The two countries had planned to resolve the beef issue by this summer, but have failed mainly due to differences over the scope of beef cattle subject to testing.