Brazil's Lula invites Japan's prime minister to eat his country's beef, and become a believer

SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday welcomed Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on his first visit to the country, with the two meeting in the capital of Brasilia and the South American leader pushing his counterpart to buy his country's beef.

Brazil had wished to seize on the bilateral meeting to push forward an agreement to open Japanese markets to Brazilian beef, a goal the Latin American country has pursued since 2005. In an appeal to the prime minister, Lula insisted he should eat at a steakhouse during his trip.

“I don’t know what you had for dinner last night,” Lula said during the press conference, looking at Kishida and the Japanese delegation, then turning his attention to Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, who is also Minister of Industry, Commerce, Development and Trade. “Please, take Prime Minister Fumio to eat steak at the best restaurant in Sao Paulo so that, the following week, he starts importing our beef.”

Under Lula, Brazil has boosted efforts to export beef to international markets. Since the beginning of 2023 when Lula took office, 50 countries have lifted restrictions, mostly in Asia. According to Brazilian officials, about 70% of the beef consumed in Japan is imported, while 80% of the imports come from the U.S. and Australia.

“Our meat is cheaper and of better quality than the meat you buy. I don’t even know the price, but I’m sure ours is cheaper, and of extreme quality,” Lula added.

Brazil exported more than 2 million pounds of beef in 2023, barely breaking the record set the prior year, according to official trade data. The nation is the world's largest beef exporter, shipping to over 90 countries. The sanitary conditions of the cattle industry are now “much better than in 2005, particularly regarding recognition of areas free from foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination,” Eduardo Paes Saboia, the secretary for Asia and Pacific at Brazil’s foreign affairs ministry, told reporters in Brasilia.

The cattle industry is also a major driver of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest and the Cerrado, a vast tropical savanna region. Japan and Brazil agreed to Japanese support for restoration initiatives of the Cerrado’s degraded areas. Additional cooperation agreements pertained to cooperation in cybersecurity and investment promotion, among other areas.

“There is great potential in bilateral cooperation to address global challenges,” Kishida said at a press conference after their bilateral meeting.

He added that he expected to enhance Japanese and Brazilian cooperation in environmental protection measures, climate change and sustainable development, mentioning his country's recent $3 million contribution to the Brazilian government’s fund to protect the Amazon rainforest. He also noted that 150 Japanese executives had joined him on the trip.

Kishida's first words to Lula, according to the Brazilian president, were to express solidarity with the victims of the floods in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul that have killed 37 people as of Friday morning, with dozens more still missing.

Brazil is home to the world’s largest Japanese community outside Japan, with over 2.7 million Japanese citizens and their descendants. The first ships from the Asian country arrived to Brazil in 1908, and immigration peaked between World War I and II.

Prime Minister Kishida will travel to Asuncion, Paraguay in the afternoon to attend a business summit, meet the Japanese community and have dinner with President Santiago Peña. On Saturday morning, he is expected to fly back to Brazil to meet the Japanese community in Sao Paulo, deliver a speech at the University of Sao Paulo and attend a business meeting.

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida gives a joint statement with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands during a meeting at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrives to Planalto presidential palace for a meeting with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pose for photos at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, right, and Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida shake hands for the media during a meeting at Planalto presidential palace in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, May 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Lars Nootbaar and Masyn Winn hit two-run homers, and the St. Louis Cardinals beat Boston 10-6 on Friday night to drop the Red Sox below .500 for the first time since the season’s opening week.

Nolan Arenado had three hits that included an RBI single in the eighth after entering in a 3-for-27 slide.

“I think today we were just locked in on just competing and we were in it,” Arenado said.

Nolan Gorman and Alec Burleson also went deep for the Cardinals, who matched season highs for runs, hits (14) and homers. St. Louis has had at least 10 hits in five of its last six games.

“A lot of good at-bats tonight from everybody, you know, and stringing them together as well,” Burleson said. “Just, you know, singled them to death when we needed to and then, you know, had a couple of long balls mixed in there too. So, a lot of fun to watch when we’re clicking.”

Winn’s two-run homer off Cam Booser was the first home run of Winn’s big league career.

“He came up to me right before that at bat, he said I’m going to be taking some big swings,” Nootbaar said. “And I was like, do it, dude, why not?”

Boston has lost three straight and 10 of 14, falling to 22-23. The Red Sox had not been under .500 since a 1-2 start.

Kyle Gibson (3-2) allowed five runs, eight hits and three walks in six-plus innings as the Cardinals won for the fourth time in five games.

Brayan Bello (4-2) gave up a season-high five runs in a season-low 4 2/3 innings. Pitching on his 25th birthday, he tied a career-worst by allowing three homers.

“It was a bad outing,” Bello said through an interpreter. “The team did everything possible to score some runs, to get me some run support, but I wasn’t able to make the adjustment tonight.”

Nootbaar put the Cardinals ahead when he drove a changeup 430 feet over the center-field wall for his third home run in 10 days.

“Hitting’s contagious and you have handful of guys that have some knocks and all of a sudden you feel a little bit better about yourself and have more confidence,” Nootbaar said.

David Hamilton’s two-run triple tied the score in the second. Tyler O’Neill scored on the hit and received a standing ovation in his return to St. Louis, his team from 2018-23.

Gorman homered in the second and Rafael Devers tied the score 3-3 with a 443-foot drive in the third — he is 9 for 20 against Gibson with three extra-base hits.

“We were what, 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position?” Red Sox manager Alex Cora said. “But the at-bats are getting better, which is, you know, a positive.”

Burleson homered leading off the fourth and Paul Goldschmidt hit an RBI single for a 5-3 lead in the fifth.

“Today was fun, man,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said. “Up and down the lineup, not a whole lot of breathing room. Extra-base hits, homers, some key hits when they were needed from just about everybody. So, offense looked really really good today.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Red Sox: RHP Garrett Whitlock (left oblique strain) experienced soreness in his right elbow following a rehab start and has been shut down. Whitlock, who threw 4 2/3 scoreless innings at Triple-A Worcester on Wednesday, returned to Boston and will undergo imaging tests over the weekend.

Cardinals: C Willson Contreras (left forearm fracture) had his cast removed and still hopes to return around the All-Star break. … RHP Giovanny Gallegos (right shoulder impingement) threw a bullpen session.

UP NEXT

The Cardinals will start RHP Miles Mikolas (3-5, 6.19 ERA) against RHP Kutter Crawford (2-2, 2.24 ERA) and the Red Sox on Saturday night. Mikolas allowed just one run in six innings in his lone career start last year against Boston. Crawford gave up four runs in four innings in his only career start against St. Louis in 2022.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb

St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Paul Goldschmidt fields a ground ball hit by Boston Red Sox's Dominic Smith in the third inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals' Alec Burleson, right, is congratulated by teammate Ivan Herrera (48) after hitting a solo home run in the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

Boston Red Sox's center fielder Jarren Duran jumps at the wall but is unable to catch a home-run hit by St. Louis Cardinals' Masyn Winn in the sixth inning of a baseball game, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals' shortstop Masyn Winn (0) is congratulated by teammate Ivan Herrera (48) after hitting a two-run home run in the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals' Paul Goldschmidt hits an RBI single in the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

Boston Red Sox first baseman Dominic Smith catches a foul ball hit by St. Louis Cardinals' Brendan Donovan in the sixth inning of a baseball, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals relief pitcher John King throws in the ninth inning of a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)

St. Louis Cardinals right fielder Lars Nootbaar (21), center, and teammates celebrate after their victory in a baseball game against the Boston Red Sox, Friday, May 17, 2024, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Joe Puetz)