Uncertainty Buffets Japan’s Whaling Fleet

[Judi Lynn]

Source: New York Times

Uncertainty Buffets Japan’s Whaling Fleet
By MARTIN FACKLER
Published: May 15, 2010

AYUKAWAHAMA, Japan — This small harbor on Japan’s northern coast, where whaling boats sit docked with harpoon guns proudly displayed, and shops sell carvings made from the ivorylike teeth of sperm whales, might seem to be an unlikely place to find opponents of the nation’s contested Antarctic whaling.

Yet, local residents are breaking long-held taboos to speak out against the government-run Antarctic hunts, which they say invite international criticism that threatens the much more limited coastal hunts by people in this traditional whaling town.

“The research whaling in the Antarctic is not about protecting culture,” said Ichio Ishimori, a city councilman in Ishinomaki, of which Ayukawahama is a part.

The Japanese government is facing renewed pressures at home and abroad to drastically scale back its so-called research whaling. Yet, Tokyo seems paralyzed by the same combination of nationalist passions and entrenched bureaucratic interests that have previously blocked any action to limit the three-decade-old whaling program.





Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/16/world/asia/16whaling.html?ref=world

[ladjf]

1. I'm very please to hear that the Japanese people are beginning

to question this cruel and unnecessary practice. nt

[BrklynLiberal]

2. Fantatstic that there are some enlightened and courageous Japanese willing to speak out against this

[Bonobo]

3. This article explains EXACTLY why the actions of fools like "Captain: Watson are misguided.

"“We can’t change now because it would look like giving in."

"While few Japanese these days actually eat whale, criticism of the whale hunts has long been resented here as a form of Western cultural imperialism."

"Mr. Kodaira said he recognized that Japan’s whaling industry had shrunk to just a few hundred jobs, mostly paid for by the government. However, he said that the recent aggressive actions of foreign environmental groups like the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which has clashed with Japanese whaling ships near the Antarctic, had fanned popular ire, making it impossible for Tokyo to compromise now."

"Whaling experts say the real reason the ministry wants to keep the program alive is to secure cushy retirement jobs for ministry officials, a common practice that is widely criticized."



So you see, actions by vainglorious galoots like Captain Watson are and have always been counter-productive, insulting and self-serving.

[Kolesar]

8. Second most popular show on Animal Planet

That show is staying. I understand its appeal. The opening theme is a rock video and very seductive to the young viewers.

[bemildred]

4. Well, I imagine it's just driving the whales nuts too?

"Are they going to kill us or not? How can we plan with this sort of uncertainty"

[roguevalley]

5. I hope they sink and they are faced with greenpeace having to save

their criminal asses.

[flvegan]

6. "The ministry blamed the shortfall on the Sea Shepherd society’s obstructions."

Half the planned take.

I LOVE seeing my money at work. Keep swinging at 'em, Sea Shepherd.

Maybe someday AGENDA 21 visits Japan...

[Kolesar]

7. Get a job, you f**king slobs

USA has Boeing and Lockheed feeding at the public trough, and Japan has whalers.

While few Japanese these days actually eat whale, criticism of the whale hunts has long been resented here as a form of Western cultural imperialism. During the long tenure of the Liberal Democratic Party, whaling was one of the sacred cows of Japanese politics, embraced by a group of nationalist lawmakers within the party who saw it as a rare issue where Tokyo could appeal to conservatives by waving the flag and saying no to Washington.

Hayduke lives!