The Liberal Democratic Party has approved a decision by the health and agriculture ministries to accept a U.S.-proposed cattle age verification method, LDP lawmakers said Wednesday.
The approval moves Japan closer to lifting its import ban on U.S. beef that was instituted amid fears of mad cow disease.
An LDP subcommittee on bovine spongiform encephalopathy endorsed the two ministries' decision on the premise that Japan's Food Safety Commission will approve the U.S. testing method.