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A farm belonging to Fukunaga Industry in Kagoshima (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)
The Big Story

Japan fights to remain the king of wagyu beef

Australia and New Zealand tweak traditional methods as tastes change

WATARU SUZUKI, Nikkei staff writer | Japan

KAGOSHIMA, Japan/MELBOURNE-- Some customers at Sydney's Sutcliffe Meats were appalled in late August when they saw the price of the exquisitely marbled steaks displayed under the glass counter: 400 Australian dollars ($283) per kilogram, double what other local butcher shops were charging for their highest-quality beef. But Stephen Kelly, the shop's owner, knew that Kagoshima wagyu -- beef from the black cattle raised in Japan's Kagoshima Prefecture -- had hardcore fans.

"They sold out quickly," Kelly said. "Now we are looking to do more."

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