The Japanese Ministry of Fisheries and whaling todayOfficially it [Japan] does not hunt whales, but kills 300 a year for "research purposes" a cover as thin as the slices of sashimi that a "researched" whale inevitably becomes.Japan's whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary: As part of its efforts to prevent further depletion of the remaining populations of whales, the IWC has established a number of protective mechanisms. The most recent is the Southern Ocean Sanctuary (SOS), which prohibits commercial whaling throughout the Southern Ocean. The establishment of the SOS was adopted with near unanimity. The only country that voted against the sanctuary was Japan. Japan then registered an objection to the decision, and has since that time continued to whale in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary.
There is a provision in the IWC Convention which entitles Member States to kill whales for purposes of scientific research. But Japan's "research" programme in the Antarctic was NEVER requested by the IWC's Scientific Committee, and the Commission has repeatedly criticised it. In fact, every year the IWC passes a resolution condemning Japan's continued whaling in the Southern Ocean Sanctuary, and calling on it to stop its "research" program. The most recent resolution states that the Commission: "Strongly urges the Government of Japan to halt the lethal takes of minke whales conducted under the JARPA program, at least until the Scientific Committee has reported to the Commission on the impacts of the JARPA program on the stocks of minke whales in Areas IV and V." Not so incidentally, whaling is big business. In 1997, whaling officials announced that the year's catch from the Antarctic, 1,995 tonnes, would be sold for 3.5 billion yen (roughly 30 million US dollars at current rates), and that retail prices would be three times as high. So an additional income of about 60 million US dollars was generated in the distribution network. This year's catch will retail for around 3,270 Yen per kilogram in Tokyo (about $27 USD per kilo, $60 USD per pound). Buying their way back to full scale commercial whaling: The last meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) was rocked by an admission from a senior member of the Japanese delegation that the Fisheries Agency of Japan is using Overseas Development Assistance money to encourage countries to vote with them. This admission was corroborated by the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. When asked by the Caribbean News Agency whether his administration was supporting whaling because of aid his country was getting from Japan the Prime Minister replied, "Partly, yes, quite frankly I make no bones about it". Through its blatant vote buying the Japanese government is packing the IWC with members whose votes it has bought and paid for. At the 53rd IWC meeting in London in July 2001, the Fisheries Agency had recruited a group of nine countries that vote with Japan on every issue. If this vote buying goes unchecked the Japanese government may well have a purchased a majority by this year's IWC meeting, which is being held in Shimonoseki, Japan, the home port of the whaling fleet. |
