TOKYO, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Japan has banned poultry imports from Britain after learning that the highly pathogenic H5N1 strain of bird flu had been discovered on a farm in eastern England, the farm ministry said. Japan banned the imports effective Saturday, Feb. 3, following the discovery of the strain of avian flu at a farm run by Europe's largest turkey producer, the ministry said in a statement issued on Sunday. The nation routinely bans imports when food safety is concerned. Japan imported 161,530 birds from Britain in 2006, the ministry said.
