TOKYO Jan 20, 2006 — Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Friday said Japan would completely halt imports of U.S. beef after a recent shipment was found that may contain material considered at risk for mad cow disease "This is a pity given that imports had just resumed," Koizumi told reporters. "I received the agriculture minister's report with his recommendation that the imports be halted and I think it is a good idea." Mad cow disease is the common name for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE, a degenerative nerve disease in cattle that is linked to a rare but fatal nerve...