Live virus found in goat meat brought into Japan

A passenger tried to bring goat meat into Japan. The meat had a dangerous virus in it. Japan's Animal Quarantine Service, a government office that checks animals and meat coming into the country, announced this on April 24, 2026.

The meat arrived on January 11, 2026. A passenger flew from Beijing, the capital of China, to New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, in the north of Japan. The passenger told the officers about the meat. It was goat meat with the feet still attached, and it weighed 8.23 kilograms. The officers checked the meat and did not allow it into Japan.

The Animal Quarantine Service then tested the meat. It found the virus that causes foot-and-mouth disease^*1. The virus was type O. It was still alive and could still infect^*2 animals.

The office tests meat that people try to bring into Japan. So far, it has found genes^*3 of this virus in three samples^*4. Two came from passengers' bags, and one came from international mail. But this goat meat is the first sample with a live virus in it.

1. *1 foot-and-mouth disease: a sickness that spreads fast among cows, pigs, goats and sheep
2. *2 infect: to give a sickness to a person or an animal
3. *3 genes: very small parts inside a living thing; scientists can find them in a test to show the virus was there
4. *4 samples: small pieces of something that are taken for a test