Farm minister Yoshinobu Shimamura has come under heavy fire from opposition and ruling party politicians for saying Japan's blanket testing of cattle for mad cow disease would be considered ``nonsense'' anywhere else.

Shimamura was forced Thursday to effectively retract the remark, which he made during a meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee last week, but it has done little to quell the firestorm.

Main opposition party Minshuto (Democratic Party of Japan) is calling on the minister to resign.

Muneaki Samejima, who serves as agriculture minister in Minshuto's shadow Cabinet, accuses Shimamura of attempting to exercise political pressure on the government's Food Safety Commission.

He says Shimamura's remarks, which included urging the Cabinet Office commission to speed up its review of domestic safety measures for BSE, could prejudice the members' findings.

The completion of the commission's review is a precondition for the lifting of the government ban on U.S. beef imports, and the policy to test slaughtered cattle of all ages is the centerpiece of the measures.

Shimamura agreed, albeit implicitly, to withdraw the remark on Thursday, after being grilled by Minshuto lawmaker Tetsuro Fukuyama during a meeting of the Upper House Budget Committee.

At a meeting of the Lower House Budget Committee on Wednesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi brushed aside a Minshuto lawmaker's demand to dismiss Shimamura.

But others within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party are not nearly as supportive.

At a subcommittee meeting of the party's Research Commission on Comprehensive Agricultural Administration on Thursday, Chairman Hosei Norota criticized Shimamura, saying his statements would create unwanted confusion among the public.

Shimamura's comments also ruffled the feathers of consumer activists.

Consumer Japan (Shodanren), a nationwide network of 43 consumer groups, on Monday submitted a letter of protest to the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, demanding that Shimamura retract his remark and offer an apology.(IHT/Asahi: March 5,2005)