Apple Quarantine

* It is quite regrettable that “Caught in Cross-Fire of Pacific Apple War” (July 22) mixes facts and hearsay and conveys a harmful and misleading message about Japan, in particular Japan’s plant quarantine procedures.

The article asserts that even though fire blight exists in Japan, Japan has continued to deny the fact and has been using fear of the spread of fire blight as a cornerstone of a trade policy that effectively barred apples imported from the U.S.

However, while the American and European fire blight infects a wide range of plants including pears and apples, the disease called bacterial shoot blight of pear, which occurs in a very limited area of Japan, infects only pears grown under natural conditions. Dr. Steven Beer at Cornell University also reported that the disease in Japan is different from the American and European fire blight in terms of its bacteriological characteristics. Serious damage to apple production would be unavoidable if fire blight, which is strongly infectious in apples, was introduced into Japan. Consequently, Japan has imposed necessary plant quarantine measures on apples imported from the U.S., where fire blight is endemic.

Japan’s plant quarantine system meets all international requirements; authorities continue to deal with plant quarantine issues in good faith, based on scientific evidence.

JUN KODA

Consul General of Japan

Los Angeles