SYDNEY (Kyodo) U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso on Saturday that Japan's re-imposition in January of an import ban on beef from U.S. cattle was an excessive reaction, Japanese officials said.
The two met in Sydney on the sidelines of the first ministerial-level security talks among Japan, the United States and Australia.
Rice urged Japan to lift the ban on U.S. beef imports at an early date, saying Japan's re-imposition following the discovery of a backbone -- a mad cow disease risk material -- in a shipment of U.S. veal at a Japanese airport in January, was excessive.