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Japanese whaling ship Nisshin Maru departing from its home port of Innoshima in Hiroshima.
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The whaling fleet had intended to depart unnoticed, cancelling the traditional high-profile departure ceremony in its home port of Shimonoseki. But Greenpeace was there as factory ship, the Nisshin Maru, left port yesterday, 2pm Tokyo time. Greenpeace activists marked the occasion with banners reading “Whaling on Trial” and another in Japanese outlining the whaling operation’s multi-million dollar drain on Japan’s taxpayers.
The fleet departs amid growing crises and confusion in Japan's whaling program. The past week has seen contradictory reports of a reduction in the whale quota, the closure of Toyko’s top whale meat restaurant and reports of difficulty in hiring Japanese crew for the whaling hunt.
It is also uncertain whether the fleet will be able to store all of its intended whale catch and re-fuel without the fleet’s refueling vessel, the Oriental Bluebird. This vessel was recently de-flagged by the Panamanian Authorities based on evidence provided by Greenpeace. Without a replacement vessel, the whalers can only take half their intended catch – saving up to 500 whales.
These cracks in the Japanese whaling industry come on the back of sustained international pressure along with on-the-ground campaigning by Greenpeace in Japan.
Opposition to the whaling industry inside Japan is growing thanks to the work of our Japanese office.
Whaling in Japan has had little press attention in the past, but that changed when Greenpeace unveiled boxes of stolen whale meat on live television, prompting calls from Japan's media and the Tokyo public prosecutor for a full investigation of abuse of taxpayers' money. Instead, in an action which reflects the depths of the corruption which pervades the whaling industry, our own activists were arrested.
The political prosecution of activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki has been denounced by Amnesty International. The United Nations' Human Rights Committee severely reprimanded the Japanese Government for the “unreasonable restrictions placed on freedom of expression” in Japan. It also condemned the abuse of trespass laws by Japanese police to harass activists who are critical of government policy.
With the industry under so much pressure, Greenpeace is now focusing its campaign efforts to end whaling in Japan and will not send a vessel to the Southern Ocean this year.
Polling in Japan shows that 71% of Japanese people don’t support their country’s whaling on the high seas. And most Japanese people are unaware of the large amounts of taxpayer funds that prop-up the industry. On top of this, a huge percentage of Japanese people claim to have either never eaten whale meat or not eaten it for a long time. This is backed up by evidence of a massive stockpile of 4200 tonnes of frozen whale meat.
Our job now is to turn this shift in the public mood on whaling in Japan into a political decision to end the whaling program.
“The whale meat market has clearly collapsed and is unprofitable, and the stigma of scandal and corruption has made it an unattractive and less lucrative industry to work for,” said Jun Hoshikawa, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan. “The whaling industry's days are numbered, and it's time for the Japanese taxpayer to demand the government stops subsidising this bankrupt program.”
If Japan is going to start rounding up political prisoners for the crime of defending whales, they're going to have to arrest a whole lot of us.
The fleet departs amid growing crises and confusion in Japan's whaling program. The past week has seen contradictory reports of a reduction in the whale quota, the closure of Toyko’s top whale meat restaurant and reports of difficulty in hiring Japanese crew for the whaling hunt.
It is also uncertain whether the fleet will be able to store all of its intended whale catch and re-fuel without the fleet’s refueling vessel, the Oriental Bluebird. This vessel was recently de-flagged by the Panamanian Authorities based on evidence provided by Greenpeace. Without a replacement vessel, the whalers can only take half their intended catch – saving up to 500 whales.
The campaign in Japan gathers momentum
These cracks in the Japanese whaling industry come on the back of sustained international pressure along with on-the-ground campaigning by Greenpeace in Japan.
“The whaling industry's days are numbered, and it's time for the Japanese taxpayer to demand the government stops subsidising this bankrupt program.”
Jun Hoshikawa, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan
Opposition to the whaling industry inside Japan is growing thanks to the work of our Japanese office.
Whaling in Japan has had little press attention in the past, but that changed when Greenpeace unveiled boxes of stolen whale meat on live television, prompting calls from Japan's media and the Tokyo public prosecutor for a full investigation of abuse of taxpayers' money. Instead, in an action which reflects the depths of the corruption which pervades the whaling industry, our own activists were arrested.
The political prosecution of activists Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki has been denounced by Amnesty International. The United Nations' Human Rights Committee severely reprimanded the Japanese Government for the “unreasonable restrictions placed on freedom of expression” in Japan. It also condemned the abuse of trespass laws by Japanese police to harass activists who are critical of government policy.
Sign the petition to stand in solidarity with Junichi and Toru
Time to focus efforts on Japan
With the industry under so much pressure, Greenpeace is now focusing its campaign efforts to end whaling in Japan and will not send a vessel to the Southern Ocean this year.
Polling in Japan shows that 71% of Japanese people don’t support their country’s whaling on the high seas. And most Japanese people are unaware of the large amounts of taxpayer funds that prop-up the industry. On top of this, a huge percentage of Japanese people claim to have either never eaten whale meat or not eaten it for a long time. This is backed up by evidence of a massive stockpile of 4200 tonnes of frozen whale meat.
Our job now is to turn this shift in the public mood on whaling in Japan into a political decision to end the whaling program.
“The whale meat market has clearly collapsed and is unprofitable, and the stigma of scandal and corruption has made it an unattractive and less lucrative industry to work for,” said Jun Hoshikawa, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan. “The whaling industry's days are numbered, and it's time for the Japanese taxpayer to demand the government stops subsidising this bankrupt program.”
Take action
If Japan is going to start rounding up political prisoners for the crime of defending whales, they're going to have to arrest a whole lot of us.
Sign the petition to stand in solidarity with Junichi and Toru
