Published on Monday13thNovember2017

Creed Meets with Japanese Minister for Health, Labour and Welfare

20171113 Creed Japan

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed pictured with Japan’s Minister for Health, Labour and Welfare, Katsunobu

On day one of the Government of Ireland, Agri-Food Trade Mission to Asia, Agriculture Minister Michael Creed met with Japan’s Minister for Health Labour and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato.

Minister Creed said:

This was a useful opportunity to hold high level discussions with a Senior Minister here in Japan, with responsibilities in the areas of Food safety, standards and certification. I took the opportunity to request that the 30 month age limit on our beef exports be raised and also undertook to begin the process of gaining market access for Irish sheepmeat to Japan. Minister Kato was interested in discussing Brexit and its implications for Ireland and the EU as a whole.

In his final engagements of the first day of the trade mission, Minister Creed met with Japan/Ireland Parliamentary Friendship League and the Friends of Ireland Business Advisory Group. These committees are advisory groups of high-level Japanese executives, including Mr. Yuji Yamamoto, former Minister for Agriculture and Food, with an interest in assisting Irish businesses. The purpose of these meetings was to share information on Irish and Japanese markets, particularly in the context of the EU-Japan Free Trade agreement. The business dinner with the Friends of Ireland group was also attended by Ireland's Ambassador to Japan, Anne Barrington.