Japan is expected to officially lift the ban on U.S. beef imports this week, which was imposed when risky backbone parts was found in a shipment in January, local media reported Sunday.

Japanese investigators have completed their survey of 35 meatpacking plants in the United States and "found no violations that would deeply affect the resumption of beef imports", the newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, said.

Last month, Tokyo and Washington agreed that Japan will ease the ban after checking the implementation of export quarantine measures in U.S. meat-packing facilities.

The team of investigators is expected to issue a report on their inspection and an official go-ahead is expected to be announced on Thursday, Yomiuri said.

With the approval, U.S. beef products may arrive by the end of the month for the first time in half a year, another newspaper Japan Times said.

Japan was a major market for U.S. beef. In 2002, Japan imported 1.7 billion U.S. dollars worth of beef from the country.

In December 2005, Japan ended its two-year ban on American beef imposed after the mad cow disease, formally known as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), was found in a U.S. herd. The ban was reinstated in January 2006 when a shipment containing risky parts was discovered at Narita airport.

Source: Xinhua