I do not know exactly at what stage it can be resolved.

In agriculture, there are things we must protect and those are sensitive products. Rice is of course included among sensitive products for Japan.

If the US side wants us to import and eat it, it should strictly abide by rules which have been agreed on between Japan and the United States.

I had an impression that ground battles will kick off from now on.

The rest of the negotiations under the WTO (Doha Round) to be sealed by April 30 will be very, very serious.

The U.S. must strictly follow the rules it agreed upon with Japan, and ensure that such an incident never occurs again.

It will not serve our purpose to help, to embark upon such discussions at this point in time, for the sake of Japanese consumers and also for the sake of U.S. producers.

It is unfortunate there has been the development that we have had to interrupt the trade of beef with the United States. But once the problem is resolved, probably we are going to resume the trade.

Specialists have given an answer after intense discussion. Looking ahead, I will implement the processes that are needed such as clearing up the issue of food safety and gaining the understanding of the general public.

People around the world are wondering whether it's all right to pursue economic activity (in China),