Japan, China, S. Korea agree to share info over food safety+

TOKYO, Nov. 23 Kyodo -
Health ministers from Japan, China and South Korea agreed Monday to share
information on food safety and coordinate measures against the outbreak of the
new H1N1 influenza virus.

At their third regular meeting held in Tokyo, the ministers signed a memorandum
on food safety, which Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said is the
first of its kind, and issued a joint statement pledging to boost cooperation
on food and health-related issues.
Under the memorandum, the three countries will exchange information on their
food inspection methods, report food safety problems and dispatch experts.
The agreement came as the Japanese government under Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama is aiming to bring Asian nations closer on various fronts.
Health minister Akira Nagatsuma told a news conference, ''The Hatoyama Cabinet
will strengthen bonds among East Asian nations.''
Nagatsuma added that he called on his Chinese counterpart Chen Zhu during a
bilateral meeting to resolve pending food safety issues between the two
countries, including the detection in Japan of tainted Chinese ''gyoza''
dumplings in 2007.
The Chinese health minister, meanwhile, welcomed the signing of the memorandum
and said food safety is one of the major health issues that the three countries
need to tackle.
In a bilateral meeting with his South Korean counterpart, Nagatsuma and Jeon
Jae Hee, minister of health, welfare and family affairs, agreed to exchange
information at the working level to address the falling birthrate and aging
population in both countries.
==Kyodo