TOKYO, Japan (13 Sep 2004) -- Japan's commercial whaling fleet has started killing minke whales, which Fisheries Agency officials describe as the "cockroaches of the sea". A total of 60 whales will be slaughtered and processed at a whale processing factory in Kushiro under the guise of 'scientific research'. While government officials in Japan continue to lie about the country's whaling activities, local politicians supported by Japan's small but powerful fishing industry are celebrating huge profits generated by sales of whale meat to supermarket chains and restaurants throughout Japan. Despite ongoing attempts by Japan's government controlled media to sell the resumption of commercial whaling as a cultural and nationalistic right, few Japanese have been persuaded. Less than 10 percent of the Japanese public eat whale products due to health concerns, the growing popularity of whale watching among younger well-traveled Japanese, and highly educated consumers who reject the same nationalism and cultural arguments that fostered Japan's violence and aggression during World War II. Still, 10 percent of Japanese consumers represents a huge market of some 12 million consumers nationwide. For a dying fishing industry that has virtually self-destructed after overfishing every edible fish stock off Japan's coast, whaling is seen as an opportunity to get back into business and coastal fishing villages throughout Japan are lining up to get government approval for dolphin and whale hunts. | | According to workers at the whale processing factory in Kushiro, the town scientist, who also owns the local sushi restaurant, was unable to conduct 'scientific research' on the whales because he was suffering from a severe hangover after entertaining Tokyo politicians, NHK producers and Fisheries Agency officials at a sleezy hostess bar. He did sign off, however, on official scientific documentation confirming that two minke whales were dead. According to Japan's Fisheries Agency, more dolphin and whale hunts are in the works, and the next one is scheduled for early next year off Oshika, which is located about 300 kilometers northeast of Tokyo. Annually, Japan kills about 600-700 whales in international waters and some 20,000-30,000 dolphins in Japan territorial waters. To block whale sanctuaries and reverse the ban on commercial whaling, Japan has bribed (aka 'financial aid packages') government officials in Palau and a half dozen Caribbean countries including Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. |
