chickens

The agriculture ministry's survey team inspected 30 of the affected farms and discovered flaws in preventive measures at 27 of them.

Earlier infections 3 kilometers away within the prefecture made it the first in eastern Japan to report incidence of the viral infection this winter, after cases spread in western Japan.

The H5 strain was detected for the first time at a farm in Tokushima, making it the 12th prefecture to report a bird flu outbreak case this year.

The ministry of agriculture held a meeting on epidemic prevention measures Sunday with officials pledging to support the Shiga government in tackling the bird flu outbreak.

The news marks the ninth prefecture to report cases of avian influenza this year.

Bird flu has been detected at six regional prefectures since last month in Japan's worst outbreak in more than four years.

Allegations of bribery illustrate the lengths to which the poultry industry went to preserve its decades-old, yet globally criticized practice of confining egg-laying hens in small cages.

The latest incident marked the 16th case of highly pathogenic bird flu being confirmed at a chicken farm in Japan this year.

Some 77,000 birds being raised at the farm in Kagawa Prefecture will be culled.

About 48,000 chickens being raised at the farm in the city of Higashikagawa will be culled.

The last bird flu outbreak in Japan, in January 2018, also occurred in Kagawa Prefecture, which is located on the island of Shikoku.