Japan and the United States agreed on Saturday to aim for a solution by this summer to Japan's ban on US beef imports, a Japanese official said.
Japan, formerly the top foreign buyer of US beef, suspended imports after the outbreak of mad cow disease in Washington state in late December.
Both countries have agreed to set up a formal working group by mid-May to help resolve the dispute.
"We agreed to make efforts to come up with a conclusion by summer to decide on whether to resume (US beef) imports," Kenichiro Sasae, director general of economic affair at the Foreign Ministry, told reporters.
Senior Japanese officials from the foreign ministry, agriculture ministry and health ministry met with a US delegation led by Agriculture Undersecretary J.B. Penn.
This was the first formal meeting since January to discuss how to normalise beef trade between the two countries.
Sasae said, however, there was no basic change in the positions of Japan and the United States after the meeting.
"At this point, I don't feel that the positions of both countries have come close," Sasae said.
Japan, which has had several cases of the brain-wasting disease - formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) - tests all cattle destined for market.
Washington has refused Tokyo's demand that all cattle be tested, saying there is no scientific justification for such a costly measure.
The US Department of Agriculture reiterated this week that it would stand by its decision to prohibit Kansas-based meat packer Creekstone Farms Premium Beef from independently testing for mad cow disease so it could resume sales to Japan.
Sasae said the working group had been formed to overcome major differences of opinion between the United States and Japan.
He said it was also important to keep consumers in touch with the group's discussions.
Last year, Japan bought nearly $1.4 billion worth of US beef of the $3.8 billion shipped world-wide.
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