With ban lifted, Japan will have to battle for wagyu throne in Taiwan

TAIPEI -- Now that Taiwan has lifted a 16-year ban on Japanese imports of beef, prized wagyu has a chance to capture part of a market that has always been friendly to Japanese exports.

But in the absence of Japanese wagyu, Taiwanese diners have moved on, and eateries have as well, serving chilled wagyu beef raised in Australia on grains. Despite the word "wagyu" -- "wa" for "Japan" and "gyu" for "beef" in Japanese -- Australian farmers have succeeded in convincing the world their cattle is wagyu quality.

Taiwan's Executive Yuan on Monday announced the lifting of the ban. It will likely take a while longer for distribution channels to be approved, but one Japanese government official said he hopes things start moving this year.

There is more than Aussie beef to compete against. Recently, the Nikkei Asian Review came across a small eatery in downtown Taipei advertising a "Matsusaka meat bento." What? Japanese-beef imports had been banned since 2001, when Japan was suffering from an outbreak of mad cow disease.

Was the restaurant openly flouting the law?

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