Japan halts UK poulty imports

Japan has temporarily suspended imports of all poultry and poultry meat from Britain as a preventive measure after Britain's farm ministry confirmed an outbreak of a strain of bird flu.

The measure was put in place on Wednesday, Japan's Ministry of Agriculture said in a statement.

Japan imported 38,677 live chicks from Britain last year, sharply down from 161,530 in 2006, according to trade data by the Ministry of Finance.