Confrontations On The High Seas
"Unfortunately, Japan cannot change its policies without gaiatsu, [face saving] and (the ruling) definitely serves that role to finally bring about a change."Japan, a series of three islands in the Pacific, is closer to the sea, quite obviously than landlocked nations. Surrounded by the sea, the population is one that focuses on sea life to furnish much of its traditional sources of protein for the table. The Japanese cling to tradition, and eating whale meat is part of the dining tradition in Japan. One that Japanese are slowly weaning themselves away from, and likely in response to the outcry from the international community over the country's insistence that its whaling fleet is concerned not with harvesting the seas of its declining whale population, but for meritorious scientific purposes; to assess the numbers of whales primarily, available for hunting.
Atsushi Ishii, international relations in science and technology, Tohoku University
As ruses go, this one was not very influential in assuring the outside community of environmentalists that Japan's interests were purely scientific in nature and purpose. There has always been a very influential internal whale lobby, insisting that the government stick by its traditions and refute the claims made by concerned outsiders that whale populations were being depleted by Japanese fishing excursions. Things are like that in Japan; take for example, rice production, a staple in Japan protected by legislation that once would not permit foreign importation of rice.
And this satisfied Japanese consumers since they believed that Japananese-grown rice represented the world's finest. And for their market monopoly rice growers had a captive market of a very large population accustomed to eating rice with every meal, morning, noon and night. And paying very handsomely for that privilege as well. Rice prices in Japan are monopolistic, there is nowhere a consumer can go in Japan to get rice at a 'better price', since anywhere one goes to shop for rice in Japan the price remains the same.
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| This undated file photo provided by the Australian Customs Service shows what the Australian government says is the slain carcasses of a minke whale and her calf being hauled aboard the Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru 2 in Antarctic waters. (AP Photo/Australian Customs Service, File) |
Now, the International Court in the Hague has finally ruled March 31 against Japanese whaling in the Antarctic. Japan must now put a halt to granting permits for its Antarctic whaling program. A program that permitted an annual cull of about one thousand whales. The world court, adhering to and supporting arguments put forward by Australia, rejected Japan's traditional contention that their program was scientific in nature.
Japanese authorities speak of the ruling as regrettable. But they also announced soon afterward that Japan was prepared to abide by the ruling. And the following day the Fisheries Agency of Japan claimed it was prepared to skip the next Antarctic hunt. "We didn't go to court in order to lose. But it was obvious that the whaling program had to be changed." The ruling, in fact, produced a face-saving exit for the government.
Government had few incentives to do battle with the pro-whaling lobby consisting of whalers, the whaling division of the Fisheries Agency, whaling-related businesses and powerful lawmakers. Japan can still continue conducting whaling operations off its own coast, along with its operations in the North Pacific. It usually culls about 300 minke whales a year through a separate "research" program.
Anti-whaling group says Japanese ship rammed its vessel Bob Barker in the Southern Ocean in an 'unprovoked attack'
The Japanese Antarctic fleet returned to Japan at the end of its 2013-14 season on Saturday, representing what will be its very last Antarctic harvest, with 251 Minke whales representing one-quarter of its quota.
Labels: Animal Welfare, Culture, Environment, Heritage, Japan
posted by Pieface @ Sunday, April 13, 2014
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