Japan, the biggest importer of U.S. beef, said Friday it will ban imports of the meat and order a recall of meat already in the country after a laboratory in Britain confirmed a cow from Washington state has tested positive for mad cow disease.

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry notified quarantine stations across Japan of the decision. On Wednesday, Tokyo halted imports of beef products after the U.S. mad cow case was reported.

The U.S. is the 23rd country to be subjected to a Japanese ban on beef imports due to the disease, and the first since Canada in May.

As the import ban is expected to be a lengthy one, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry will dispatch officials to Australia early next year to examine the extent to which Australian beef can cover the supply shortage expected to result from the ban.

On Friday, the health ministry told retailers to withdraw from the market all imported processed U.S. beef products, including high-risk cattle parts such as brains and spinal cords.

In a related move, the ministry asked firms not to sell extracts that contain the backbones of U.S. cattle.

Meanwhile, farm minister Yoshiyuki Kamei said earlier Friday that the government will decide when to resume imports of U.S. beef after assessing supply-demand conditions and public opinion.

"We have to think about supply-demand conditions and also listen to views from consumers," Kamei told a news conference.