+ japan
    scientific whaling
    vote buying
    government involvement
    whaling fleet
 -  norway
 -  IWC
 -  trade
 -  subsistence whaling

Historic whale drawing of a Bowhead whale. © Gliezes/Greenpeace

During the past few years, the Japanese government has dramatically increased the resources it devotes to its commercial whaling efforts. Japanese taxpayers contribute almost one billion yen (about US$9 million) annually to Japan's "scientific" whale hunt in the form of government subsidies to the whaling industry. Government resources have also been invested in bringing new countries to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to vote with Japan and in launching public relations campaigns to build support for commercial whaling.

Since the early 1990s, Japan has been openly operating a 'vote consolidation operation'. The purpose of this scheme is to recruit new member states to the IWC that will vote with Japan in favour of commercial whaling. By targeting poor developing countries and offering substantial sums of development aid in exchange for votes at the IWC. Japan has already successfully recruited eleven countries which will speak in favour of a resumption of commercial whaling and vote in line with Japan: Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, St. Kitts and Nevis, the Solomon Islands, Guinea, Morocco and Panama.

The programme continues today with another four countries, Benin, Gabon, Palau and Mongolia joining as members at this year's IWC meeting and are expected to vote in support of Japan.

As a result of its vote buying, Japan has assembled a blocking minority within the IWC. This was demonstrated when the proposal to create a South Pacific Whale Sanctuary failed to achieve the three quarters majority required to make a decision at IWC meetings the past two years. If Japan continues its vote gathering unchecked, it will eventually gain a majority in the IWC, allowing them to lift the ban on commercial whaling.

"They [Japan] make it clear, that if you don't vote for them, they will have to reconsider the aid. They use money crudely to buy influence." Atherton Martin, Dominica's former Environment and Fisheries Minister (The Observer , May 2001)