ADELAIDE, Australia (5 July 2000) -- The proposal to establish a whale sanctuary in the South Pacific was narrowly defeated in the 52nd annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Although member nations voted for the plan by almost two to one, the vote fell short of the 75% needed to adopt the plan. JAPAN BUYS VOTES AGAINST SANCTUARY Of the 11 votes against the proposal, six were cast by small Caribbean nations that rely on the perception that they are eco-friendly travel destinations that nurture and protect marine wildlife. The Caribbean nations that voted with Japan to block a whale sanctuary halfway around the world were Antigua & Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, the Republic of Guinea, St. Kitts, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. Japan does not deny it provides cash incentives to recruit countries to the IWC with the expressed intent to overturn the commercial whaling ban. "We would like to utilize overseas development aid as a practical means to promote nations to join, expanding aid to non-member countries which support Japan's claim," said Hiroaki Kameya, vice-minister of Japan's powerful fishing ministry. Other officials of Japan's whaling delegation have been even more blunt. "Whaling is a national symbol against the cultural imperialism of western nations," said Shigeko Misaki. "If we succumb to the moral standards of the western world, we would lose control of our people internally." "The West is trying to impose its unilateral standards on us. I regard this as cultural imperialism," said Masayuki Komatsu whose strident ultranationalist rhetoric echoes the anti-western slogans of Japanese fascists convicted of war crimes and executed after World War II. | 
