Wholesale Egg Prices Set to Rise
JAPAN - The country's largest egg distributor will raise prices on 1 August.

H5N1 Confirmed in Japanese Swans
JAPAN - A Japanese national institute of animal health confirmed Tuesday that the H5 strain of the bird flu virus detected in several dead and dying swans in northeastern Akita Prefecture last week belongs to the highly virulent H5N1 strain.

Japan Temporarily Bans Poultry from South Korea
JAPAN - According to local officials, Japan has temporarily halted poultry imports from South Korea because of a bird flu outbreak among ducks.

Soaring to Dizzying Heights with New Thai Plant
TOKYO - A new state of the art poultry processing plant, recently opened in Thailand, has an estimated production capacity of a whopping 30,000 tonnes when its second phase is complete.

Life Begins At 40 For Nippon Chunky
JAPAN - Aviagen were delighted to celebrate the 40th birthday of Nippon Chunky, Aviagen's Ross distributor in Japan, at their Okayama Headquarters recently.

Mitsubishi Launches Bid for KFC Japan
JAPAN - Japanese trading house Mitsubishi Corp. launched a tender offer worth up to $268 million to boost its stake in Kentucky Fried Chicken Japan Ltd., which owns more than 1,500 KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Japan.

Chicken Firm Inspected Over Mislabeling Meat, Eggs
JAPAN - The Akita prefectural government inspected a food processing company in Odate, Akita Prefecture, on suspicion of selling mislabelled smoked chicken meat and eggs, prefectural government officials said.

'Fake' Chickens Rattle Consumers
JAPAN - Consumer faith in food safety is once again in peril after chicken mislabeled as "Nagoya Cochin," a popular variety of chicken, was shipped to Aichi Prefecture and areas around Tokyo.

Japanese Poultry Import Ban 'A Shame'
JAPAN - The president of the Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council has called the Japanese reaction to the discovery of avian flu at a Saskatchewan farm “a shame,” despite the fact that exports to Japan account for less than 10 per cent of total...

Japanese Chickens Stop Scours In Kiwi Calves
JAPAN - Antibodies made by Japanese chickens are helping New Zealand calves fight potentially fatal scours.

Japan imports less meat in June
JAPAN - Japanese protein imports in June fell in all three major categories – beef, pork and chicken – compared with the same month last year.

Police Consider Charges Over 'Pure Beef' Scam
SAPPORO - The scandal over Meat Hope's bogus "100-percent beef" products deepened Sunday when Hokkaido police started a criminal investigation that could lead to fraud charges against the companies involved.

Tainted Food Company Admits Mislabeling Domestic Chicken Meat As Brazilian
JAPAN - A local food processing company, under fire for mixing pork with minced beef used for croquettes and other food, admitted Thursday that it also mislabeled domestic chicken meat it had shipped as Brazilian meat.

LDP Panel Wants SDF To Take Aim At Harmful Animals
JAPAN - Members of a Liberal Democratic Party panel want to give Self-Defense Forces' members the legal right to fire their weapons--at animals threatening the agriculture and fisheries industries.

Japan Poultry Import Applications Resumed
JAPAN - The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today (May 22) announced that the processing of applications for importing poultry and poultry products from Miyazaki and Okayama Prefectures of Japan would resume with immediate effect.

Sun Exports Again After 3-Year Break
JAPAN - Sun Group, an integrated poultry business, has resumed exporting chicken meat after a three-year suspension due to bird flu.

Japanese poultry import ban lifted
JAPAN - The Centre for Food Safety will resume processing applications for importing Japanese poultry and poultry products, except from the prefectures of Miyazaki and Okayama.

Newcastle Disease Hits Japan
JAPAN - An outbreak of Newcastle disease has occurred in Tonami City, resulting in the destruction of 8,700 birds.

Japan holds bird flu drill
JAPAN - Japan began a drill yesterday to test its readiness for dealing with a human case of bird flu, with a limping mock patient _ wearing a white mask and labelled "Mr A" _ being whisked to hospital in an ambulance and tested.

International Egg and Poultry Review
By the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service - This is a weekly report looking at international developments concerning the poultry industry, this week looking at the latest in Japan.

Salmonella found in 26% of egg farms
JAPAN - Salmonella bacteria, which can cause potentially fatal food poisoning, were detected in more than 26 percent of egg-producing farms surveyed by the Japan Poultry Association (JPA).