Topeka ? Republican Sen. Sam Brownback said Thursday he was pressing Japanese agricultural officials for a decision on when they will reopen their nation’s markets to American beef imports.

Those markets closed after the U.S. Department of Agriculture confirmed the first case of mad cow disease in an animal in Washington state in December. Since then, USDA officials have taken steps designed to make the beef supply safer, and state and federal officials have sought to reassure consumers that no health threat exists.

“It’s a dance,” Brownback said. “You’ve got to answer all the scientific, technical questions, but then sometimes, that’s not enough. You have to then address the public perception issues, and you’ve got political concerns on both sides.”

On Thursday, Brownback toured ranches in Riley and Pottawatomie counties with Japanese officials, and their itinerary included a visit to a processing plant operated by Tyson Fresh Meets Inc. in Emporia.

The senator and Takao Shibata, the Japanese consul general in Kansas City, Mo., also spoke to a luncheon attended by about 100 members of the Kansas Livestock Assn.

Asked later when the Japanese government might decide to resume American beef imports, Shibata said, “I don’t think I would be in a position to respond to that question.”

But he added: “My hope is that it will be resolved as quickly as possible. We are grateful for the senator to give us the opportunity to see what is happening here in Kansas. It is very educational for us.”

In his remarks to the livestock association members on Thursday, Shibata said Japan saw its own mad cow cases close American markets to Japanese beef.

“We would very much like to see that we go forward mutually on this issue,” he said.