Tokyo to Damage its International Reputation

[WhaleKillers]

Japan has welcomed the first vote for two decades in support of commercial whaling as a "huge" step and vowed to press on to resume hunting, leading New Zealand to warn that whales were no longer safe.
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Pro-whaling nations led by Japan passed a non-binding resolution at the International Whaling Commission by a one-vote margin that branded a 20-year ban on commercial whaling "no longer necessary."
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Hideki Moronuki, head of the whaling section of Japan's Fisheries Agency, cautioned against exaggerating the impact of the vote held in the West Indies.
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"It is too fast to claim that the moratorium has been eliminated," he said Monday.
.
"Of course, if the moratorium were truly eliminated, we would be overjoyed. But for that to happen, it will still take a bit more time.
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"We have simply taken a huge step towards normalizing the International Whaling Commission. This is only a preamble to what we hope would be a complete restoration of the commission so that it can do its job correctly under international standards."
.
Farm minister Shoichi Nakagawa said the vote showed that the opponents of whaling were now outnumbered by "voices calling for a normalization of whale resource management."
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"Our country will continue doing our best for the resumption of sustainable whaling based on scientific data."
.
Japan wants the International Whaling Commission to manage whale stocks for commercial hunting, a notion scoffed at by Western environmentalists who say the mammals remain at risk.
.
Securing a permanent majority on the IWC would allow Tokyo to control its agenda for the first time since a moratorium was introduced and, environmentalists fear, let Tokyo hinder conservation efforts.
.
Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand, one of the major opponents of Japanese whaling which is partially in Antarctic waters, said that Tokyo was damaging its international reputation.
.
She repeated charges that Japan had used its foreign aid to win the votes of small countries on the commission which have no history of whaling.
.
"It does mean we cannot count on whales being safe for the future," Clark said.
.
"When you can't shift the stocks of whalemeat off the shelves in supermarkets of Japan, it's not a tenable position when you have to in effect apply very large amounts of money to get support," she said.
.
Environmentalists point to a glut of whale on Japanese markets as proof that the country does not need the meat. A new Japanese government-backed company was formed this year with plans to sell cheaper whalemeat to schools, bars and hospitals in hopes that more people will develop a taste for it.
.
Whalemeat has a sentimental association for many Japanese as it helped feed the nation when it was on the verge of famine after defeat in World War II.
.
Japan argues that whalemeat is part of its culture and urges Western nations to respect its traditions.
.
Japan officially abides by the 1986 moratorium but kills whales under a loophole that allows "research" while sending the meat on the market.
.
Iceland also carries out "research" whaling while Norway ignores the moratorium altogether. Around 2,000 whales are taken every year by the three nations.
.
At last year's commission meeting in South Korea, Japan doubled its annual kill to about 850 minke whales and extended the hunt to other species considered to be endangered. — AFP Japan has welcomed the first vote for two decades in support of commercial whaling as a "huge" step and vowed to press on to resume hunting, leading New Zealand to warn that whales were no longer safe.
.
Pro-whaling nations led by Japan passed a non-binding resolution at the International Whaling Commission by a one-vote margin that branded a 20-year ban on commercial whaling "no longer necessary."
.
Hideki Moronuki, head of the whaling section of Japan's Fisheries Agency, cautioned against exaggerating the impact of the vote held in the West Indies.
.
"It is too fast to claim that the moratorium has been eliminated," he said Monday.
.
"Of course, if the moratorium were truly eliminated, we would be overjoyed. But for that to happen, it will still take a bit more time.
.
"We have simply taken a huge step towards normalizing the International Whaling Commission. This is only a preamble to what we hope would be a complete restoration of the commission so that it can do its job correctly under international standards."
.
Farm minister Shoichi Nakagawa said the vote showed that the opponents of whaling were now outnumbered by "voices calling for a normalization of whale resource management."
.
"Our country will continue doing our best for the resumption of sustainable whaling based on scientific data."
.
Japan wants the International Whaling Commission to manage whale stocks for commercial hunting, a notion scoffed at by Western environmentalists who say the mammals remain at risk.
.
Securing a permanent majority on the IWC would allow Tokyo to control its agenda for the first time since a moratorium was introduced and, environmentalists fear, let Tokyo hinder conservation efforts.
.
Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand, one of the major opponents of Japanese whaling which is partially in Antarctic waters, said that Tokyo was damaging its international reputation.
.
She repeated charges that Japan had used its foreign aid to win the votes of small countries on the commission which have no history of whaling.
.
"It does mean we cannot count on whales being safe for the future," Clark said.
.
"When you can't shift the stocks of whalemeat off the shelves in supermarkets of Japan, it's not a tenable position when you have to in effect apply very large amounts of money to get support," she said.
.
Environmentalists point to a glut of whale on Japanese markets as proof that the country does not need the meat. A new Japanese government-backed company was formed this year with plans to sell cheaper whalemeat to schools, bars and hospitals in hopes that more people will develop a taste for it. -puke
.
Whalemeat has a sentimental association for many Japanese as it helped feed the nation when it was on the verge of famine after defeat in World War II.
.
Japan argues that whalemeat is part of its culture and urges Western nations to respect its traditions.
.
Japan officially abides by the 1986 moratorium but kills whales under a loophole that allows "research" while sending the meat on the market.
.
Iceland also carries out "research" whaling while Norway ignores the moratorium altogether. Around 2,000 whales are taken every year by the three nations.
.
At last year's commission meeting in South Korea, Japan doubled its annual kill to about 850 minke whales and extended the hunt to other species considered to be endangered. — AFP Japan has welcomed the first vote for two decades in support of commercial whaling as a "huge" step and vowed to press on to resume hunting, leading New Zealand to warn that whales were no longer safe.
.
Pro-whaling nations led by Japan passed a non-binding resolution at the International Whaling Commission by a one-vote margin that branded a 20-year ban on commercial whaling "no longer necessary."
.
Hideki Moronuki, head of the whaling section of Japan's Fisheries Agency, cautioned against exaggerating the impact of the vote held in the West Indies.
.
"It is too fast to claim that the moratorium has been eliminated," he said Monday.
.
"Of course, if the moratorium were truly eliminated, we would be overjoyed. But for that to happen, it will still take a bit more time.
.
"We have simply taken a huge step towards normalizing the International Whaling Commission. This is only a preamble to what we hope would be a complete restoration of the commission so that it can do its job correctly under international standards."
.
Farm minister Shoichi Nakagawa said the vote showed that the opponents of whaling were now outnumbered by "voices calling for a normalization of whale resource management."
.
"Our country will continue doing our best for the resumption of sustainable whaling based on scientific data."
.
Japan wants the International Whaling Commission to manage whale stocks for commercial hunting, a notion scoffed at by Western environmentalists who say the mammals remain at risk.
.
Securing a permanent majority on the IWC would allow Tokyo to control its agenda for the first time since a moratorium was introduced and, environmentalists fear, let Tokyo hinder conservation efforts.
.
Prime Minister Helen Clark of New Zealand, one of the major opponents of Japanese whaling which is partially in Antarctic waters, said that Tokyo was damaging its international reputation.
.
She repeated charges that Japan had used its foreign aid to win the votes of small countries on the commission which have no history of whaling.
.
"It does mean we cannot count on whales being safe for the future," Clark said.
.
"When you can't shift the stocks of whalemeat off the shelves in supermarkets of Japan, it's not a tenable position when you have to in effect apply very large amounts of money to get support," she said.
.
Environmentalists point to a glut of whale on Japanese markets as proof that the country does not need the meat. A new Japanese government-backed company was formed this year with plans to sell cheaper whalemeat to schools, bars and hospitals in hopes that more people will develop a taste for it.
.
Whalemeat has a sentimental association for many Japanese as it helped feed the nation when it was on the verge of famine after defeat in World War II.
.
Japan argues that whalemeat is part of its culture and urges Western nations to respect its traditions.
.
Japan officially abides by the 1986 moratorium but kills whales under a loophole that allows "research" while sending the meat on the market.
.
Iceland also carries out "research" whaling while Norway ignores the moratorium altogether. Around 2,000 whales are taken every year by the three nations.
.
At last year's commission meeting in South Korea, Japan doubled its annual kill to about 850 minke whales and extended the hunt to other species considered to be endangered. — AFP
http://www.todayonline.com/articles/125433.asp

[nice gaijin]

Interesting. Did you have an opinion to go with that or do you always let someone else do the talking?

[yukio_michael]

Too long, didn't read.

[leonmarino]

Copy-pasting an article four times in one post does not add strength to the persuasiveness of the post.

[Cue]

But, the idea of using "." after sentences to seperate paragraphs instead of line feed itself is remarkable. o_O

[WhaleKillers]

^^ The "." just somehow ended up like that after I copied and pasted. My bad. I posted very fast, did not check.

I will post a better and clearer thread on topic. I promise.

[nurizeko]

I have an opinion, since Whale doesnt.

I'm all for whaling within the confines of the species continued existance and well-being overall as long as theirs a demand, but Japan doesnt even eat that much, as the surplus indicates, it makes me wonder, why is the Japanese government so insistant on whale meat for a people who dont want it, that its buying out smaller countries to get it?

Is there some secret uber-chemical that can help Japan dominate the world or something in whale meat which makes them care that much?.

I just dont see the logic, or even broad point, including emotional or cultural factors, why they need to kill whales and then let them rot, because their country doesnt want it.

[Dudley]

The intresting thing is that the "St.Kitts Declaration" as that resolution is refered to was driven by St.Kitts and Nevis.

It was on the agenda for ealy discussion, however as there was not the support in the room for it the Kittician delagation asked for discussions to be held outside the plenary sessions.

Late on the second day when a few more Japanese supporters finally paid there dues and restored their voting rights it was restored to the agenda and the result is now history.

I was in the room and am not making this from media reports.

[TeriyakiPinoy]

Whale hunting? well i guess that isnt good! but the nature activists like Greenpeace are exagurating a lot! but yeah who stops the japanese? You,Me? we'll never know

[Taiko666]

Originally Posted by TeriyakiPinoy

but yeah who stops the japanese? You,Me? we'll never know

Let's hear it for the UK Government!

In response to Japan's sleazy behaviour in securing a pro-whaling majority in the IWC by employing tactics that are tantamount to bribery, the UK Government is responding in kind. It seems likely that the pro-whalers will be back in the minority soon.

Has this appeared in the Japanese press yet?


Britain fights Japan's bid to control whaling commission

Leading article: Britain plays Japan at its own game

[Kyoto Returnee]

Originally Posted by WhaleKillers

She repeated charges that Japan had used its foreign aid to win the votes of small countries on the commission which have no history of whaling.

Something they are very good at...

Communication and common sense in Japan seem to be absent most of the time..

[centrajapan]

Communication and common sense in Japan seem to be absent most of the time..

Don't forget to eat your vitamins and paxils.

[magevampjoe]

If Japan wants to whale, let it. Whatever. Not my business. As long as it doesn't kill the most endangered (I heard on the news that it is leaving humpbacks alone) then it is OK.