The Japanese have not resumed hunting whales because Greenpeace is following their fleet in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Toshiro Shirasu, the administrative vice-minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, told reporters in Tokyo today.
The Japanese government whaling vessel Nisshin Maru flees from the Greenpeace ship Esperanza in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
The Greenpeace ship Esperanza has been chasing the factoryship Nisshin Maru for 10 straight days, consequently stopping theentire whaling operation. With the factory ship out of commission, nowhales have been killed by the hunter ships as they would not be ableto transfer their catch.
"Greenpeace came here topeacefully stop the hunt and that is what we have done. But it is notenough to stop whaling only when the world's eyes are on the fleet andthe Esperanza is on its tail," said Greenpeace Japan campaigner SakyoNoda, on board the Esperanza. "Tokyo must take the decision to call anend to this whaling season now and make it the lastone."
The Japanese government has come underincreasing pressure over their whaling program. Today that pressureincreased after Junichi Sato, Greenpeace Japan whales project leader,wrote an open letter to Japanese business leaders warning of thenegative impact that whaling is having on the country's reputationinternationally.
Already the New Zealand division ofToyota has condemned whaling and even the former whaling companyNissui, has acknowledged that whaling is bad forbusiness.
The letter states:
"By huntingnearly 1,000 whales including endangered fin whales, by usingtaxpayers' money, under the name of 'research' in an internationallyrecognized whale sanctuary, the Japanese government is creating hugeenvironmental, economic, and diplomatic friction, the negative impactof which many professionals in the economic and financial world inJapan have underestimated. As Nippon Suisan Kaisha, Ltd.(Nissui), one of the major ex-whaling companies, said, 'Involvement inwhaling is a business risk.' Whaling creates a negative image to theworld for Japanese companies and the countryitself.
While Greenpeace would not support a boycottof Japanese products, there is a strong possibility of boycotts byconsumers around the world if Japan's whaling continues in the SouthernOcean. Also, the image of Japan as host and international leader onenvironmental issues at the G8 Summit, which the Japanese governmentand your organization announced, has been ruined. The whaling issuecould also negatively influence economic cooperation with Australia,and an invitation to hold the Olympic Games in Tokyo in2016."
"Greenpeace's campaign to save whales from thecommercial hunt began over three decades ago in Canada, and whales areclose to the hearts of Canadians," said Beth Hunter, GreenpeaceCanada's oceans coordinator. "The tide is finally shifting againstwhaling in Japan and we have reason to hope that they will end theirhunt."