Outrage over Japan's plan to slaughter humpback whales

It's looking (to me, anyway) as though the Japanese government is playing games with this issue. It knows perfectly well that an "understanding" of each other's position is not possible. And since when has (commercial) whaling (in the Southern Ocean!) been a "cherished cultural tradition"? This is a change of emphasis from the "scientific" arguments/justifications that have been pushed for years now. :

Japan keen to discuss whaling with Australia
Posted 1 hour 23 minutes ago/ABC NEWS online


Japan's Foreign Minister says he is keen to discuss whaling with his Australian counterpart (File Photo). (AFP: Greenpeace, Jeremy Sutton-Hibbert)

Japan's Foreign Minister says he wants to discuss whaling with his Australian counterpart after the Federal Government said it would send a fisheries patrol ship to shadow Tokyo's whaling fleet near Antarctica.

Australia said on Wednesday it would send the ship to gather evidence for a possible international court challenge to halt Japan's yearly slaughter.

Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura defended Tokyo's whaling program, saying it was in line with international treaties and he saw no problem with it.

"I would like to speak with [Australia's] Foreign Minister in some form soon," Mr Komura said.

"We will try to seek each other's understanding."

Japan's whaling fleet set sail last month with plans to catch more than 1,000 whales before returning to port early next year.

Japan, which says whaling is a cherished cultural tradition, abandoned commercial whaling in accordance with an international moratorium in 1986, but began what it calls a scientific research whaling program the following year.

The Australian Embassy said it would deliver a document on whaling along with other embassies to Japan's foreign ministry today, but declined to disclose the contents of the document or say how many other countries were involved.

Whale meat ends up in Japanese supermarkets and restaurants, although the public appetite for what is now a delicacy is waning.

Some experts say Japan fears that limits on whaling will lead to limits on all Japanese fishing, while others argue the whaling campaign is a form of nationalist diplomacy.

- Reuters

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/21/2125469.htm

International pressure has an effect...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7155255.stm

Thanks, McTag:

Japan drops humpback whale hunt

A controversial Japanese mission to hunt humpback whales in the Antarctic has been temporarily abandoned, a top government official says.

Nobutaka Machimura said the humpback hunt would not go ahead - although the fleet will still hunt about 1,000 other whales in the area.

The BBC's Chris Hogg, in Tokyo, says Japan is now unlikely to chase the humpbacks for at least a year.

The move comes after pressure from the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Japan is regularly condemned for its annual whaling missions.

But this year's Antarctic expedition was particularly controversial because, in addition to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales, the fleet intended to kill up to 50 humpbacks.

It was the first time Japan had targeted the humpbacks since a moratorium was introduced in the mid-1960s - when the species had been hunted almost to extinction.


Australia criticism

Japan says whaling is necessary for scientific research, but other countries say the same goals could be achieved using non-lethal techniques.

"Japan has decided not to catch humpback whales for one year or two," Mr Machimura told reporters.

He said the decision had been reached after a meeting with the IWC.

Mr Machimura said the IWC had not been "functioning normally", claiming that the commission had been distorted by ideology.

He said Japan would suspend the humpback whale hunt while the IWC held talks on "normalising" its functions.

Australia had been particularly critical of the humpback hunt, and Foreign Minister Stephen Smith welcomed Japan's decision.

But he reiterated Canberra's view that there was no credible reason for Japan to hunt any species of whale, and pledged to keep up diplomatic efforts to prevent further missions.

Interesting, isn't it?
Japan threatens to hunt humpbacks for the first time since the 1960s. And has now withdrawn from that position, for a year or so - which leaves things pretty much as they were, prior to the humpback threat. In other words, business as usual. Let's hope that Australia & the other countries opposed to whaling will continue maintain the pressure on the Japanese, because there's still a long way to go in this fight!

A fight based on emotion instead of sound science.

Sounds very familiar, at least to me.

We have no dove hunt in Michigan for the same stupid reason.

There's a damn sight more to it than emotion, cjhsa. (Though why on earth shouldn't people feel "emotional" about the situation? Why shouldn't they be angry or upset by it?) "Scientific research", my boot!

Precisely my point.

Huh?

It is?





Oh never mind.

It's late. I'm tired. I need to get to bed soon.

What can you say? Sigh:

Whale meat used for dog food
Hiroshi Oosedo, Tokyo bureau
December 21, 2007
the AUSTRALIAN

WHALE meat has been sold as dog food in Japan and there is a push now to encourage children to consume it to help reduce stockpiles.

As Japan's whaling fleet makes its way to Antartica for this year's cull, the Japanese government has been desperately trying to reduce its stockpile from last season by encouraging public schools, nursery schools, and the food industry to increase its whale meat consumption.

Serving whale meat for school lunch had almost been suspended after the International Whaling Commission imposed a ban on commercial whaling in 1986.

But the Japanese government has been desperately trying to reduce its stockpile by encouraging public schools, nursery schools, and food industry to rise whale meat consumption.

Backed by the government's initiative, more Japanese schools have now started serving whale meat for children's school lunch.

According to the national Sankei Shimbun, more than 100 primary and junior high schools in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka have recently started whale meat school lunch.

The Asahi Shimbun reported last year that some 3,500 school nationwide serve whale meat for children for lunch.

In Japan whale meat had also been sold as dog food - although the meat came from smaller-sized whales caught along the Japanese coast, not from the Antarctic Ocean voyages.

"Hakudai," a company that processes whale meat and sell its products in Chikura, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, had - according to its own advertising, been selling whale meat as dog food until recently.

The company's home-page still includes an ad saying they sell "whale meat jerky for your cute pets."

But the company denies this has continued.

"We are not selling whale meat jerky," said a shop assistant yesterday.

It is now the year-end parties' season now for most of Japan's workers who enjoy traditional dishes, including whale meat, accompanied by alcohol.

The "Taruichi," one of half-a-dozen whale restaurants in Tokyo, has been packed with customers who love various whale dishes such as raw sashimi, fried tempura, or even whale ice-cream.

"We have all sorts of customers, young and old, men and women, particularly toward the year end," said Mr Shunichi Arita, Taruichi's manager.

"Eating whale meat is a part of food culture in Japan, which should not be disturbed by other countries' people such as Australians," he said.

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the stockpile of whale meat stood at 3,798 tonnes at the end of November, down from 4,214 tonnes in September. ...<cont>

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22959881-30417,00.html

Right now I feel extremely proud to be Australian. A relief & very nice feeling it is, I can tell you, after feeling quite ashamed of so many terrible things the Australian government has done in recent years. This is good!
However, I'm wondering exactly what sort of "reform" of the IWC the Japanese government is anticipating. :

Australia leads anti-whaling delegation
Posted 8 hours 44 minutes ago
Updated 8 hours 37 minutes ago/ABC NEWS online


Japan announced that it would defer plans to kill humpback whales during its South Ocean hunt. (File photo) (AFP: Greepeace/Kate Davison)

Australia has led a delegation of more than 30 countries that has lodged a protest with Japan's Government over its whaling programs.

The delegation has called on Japan to abandon whaling programs conducted under the guise of scientific research.

Australia's Ambassador to Tokyo, Murray McLean, led the diplomatic protest at the office of Japan's Foreign Ministry.

The demarche highlights that 11,000 whales have been killed since a moratorium on commercial whaling was imposed in 1986.

Earlier, Japan announced that it would defer plans to kill humpback whales during its hunt in the South Ocean this season.

Japan says it made the decision in anticipation of reform of the international whaling commission.

But a government spokesman, Tomohiko Taniguchi, says international pressure also had a major impact on the decision.

"It's not only Australia but other countries as well - New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States and Canada, all the people in those countries have been very concerned about Japan killing, going to kill humpback whales," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/12/22/2125940.htm

At the very least - they've admitted whale slaughter = profit.

I'm not sure they have, Stadee.
My understanding is all that they're acknowledging is that they'll "defer" hunting & slaughtering humpbacks in the Southern Ocean for a time due to "international pressure" .... & some sort of unclear (to me) expectation of "reform" within the international Whaling Commission. (I'd love to know what this is about!)

I would expect they they will continue with their whale "season" in the Southern Ocean ... though this time with considerably more scrutiny than just Sea Shepherd & Greenpeace .... & the possibility of court actions down the track.

It's interesting to me that there's been less emphasis on the "scientific research" justifications for the killing of whales & more emphasis on the "cultural tradition" of Japanese whaling more recently. (There is no tradition of Japanese whale hunting in the Southern Ocean, btw.) So maybe using the "scientific research" loop-hole isn't quite working any longer? (Not that it ever did, but they got away with it for a time!)

I think the Japanese feel that the "threatened" status of this species will be lifted for the southern oceans. SCientifically, there is no support for such a move since the pre-whale numbers of this population are almost 3X greater than the present.

What they dont get, is the fact that the entire species is still potentially a freely exchanging gene pool , not an accumulation of separate isolated populations that are unique to specific areas such as the "southern oceans" or the "North Atlantic".

msolga, they are attempting to justify the hunts, but realistically and known internationally, the Japanese whale slaughter is none other than an economic boost for whalers. Stockpiling is ludicrous. With international opposition strong, the only animals ingesting whale meat will be Japanese pets - and i'm not certain introducing school lunch boxes to small kids will be successful given the fact the Japanese majority do not eat whale meat.

Farmerman, i believe the Japanese do 'get it' and ignore real scientific evidence that whale hunts arn't preserving anything but whalers jobs. Greenpeace, in one of their alerts, said Japan in secret, is building another whaling ship. Greenpease asked we contact the Janpanese Minister.

Giving Australia their props and international lawmakers "asking" the Japanese to stand down.

Captive dolphin facility owners prosecuted

In an important step for the dolphin protection movement, The Ministry of Environment (Semarena) of the Dominican Republic has announced that it will prosecute tourist company Parques Tropicales, S.A., for illegally importing four dolphins from Cuba. Parques Tropicales brought the dolphins to their swim-with-the dolphin facility "Dolphin Island Park," in Punta Cana without authorization from the Ministry of the Environment.

This decision comes just weeks after the government of the Dominican Republic refused to allow another marine park to import live dolphins captured in Japan's cruel drive hunts. WSPA congratulated the Dominican Republic on being a strong voice of opposition to keeping dolphins in captivity.

Greenpeace and the Sea Shepherds are international terrorists. They should be shot on sight on the high seas.

That would be murder. Now that an entire government is involved , perhaps GP and The Shepherds will be vindicated by increased support.

I wonder what the Aussies are doing with a 50 cal on the front of their boat???

I think it's in case they get mistaken for a Japanese whaling vessel.

So you havent been reading Msolgas recent newsclips then?

So you are suggesting that OZ is willing to commit murder against a bunch of fisherman because they don't like what they are fishing for?

Comon.... if they are, then they are also pirates. We all know what happens to pirates.

msolga, Japans' whaling industry continues stating the same arguments in favor of whaling they've delegated for years. Japanese advocates against the slaughter of whales and dolphins remain dedicated and continue petitioning their people and government to halt the needless hunts.


Japanese People Speak Out Against Whaling - an IKAN article
Source: The Japan Observer 3rd July 2001
Gloomy Debate on Greedy Whaling
By Kurasawa Nanami, Iruka & Kujira (Dolphin & Whale) Action Network (IKAN)
From The Japan Observer, Vol.7 No.7 (July 2001)

http://whales7.tripod.com/policies/japan.html