Greenpeace whale campaign director Junichi Sato from Greenpeace Japan.
Whaling is not a Japanesetradition. There is
no need to conduct whaling under the name ofresearch when there is
an oversupply of whale and the demand isunlikely to increase. It
makes me angry that Japan goes against globalconvention (…). We
should stop whaling immediately. Tokyo
It is simply unjustifiable that an
endangeredspecies is not only killed but put on the market in the
name ofresearch. (…) They conduct it under the name of "science"
and insistthat whaling is a "traditional culture" to people around
the world aswell in Japan. (…) Both the government and public who
advocate whalingshould be awaken from their self-deceptive view of
whaling as"traditional" or "scientific." Kochi
Whenyou say "research", what parts of whales
are you actually"researching"? Aren't there other alternatives such
as stool tests? (…)Please stop whaling as it is a waste of life,
and we need to teach ourchildren the importance of life. Osaka
What is the purpose of whaling? We do not want
to eat whale.If "research" is the real purpose, we can do it
without killing them,can't we? Do not waste our taxes catching
whales but instead protectthem. PLEASE!! Tokyo
Don't try to fool us(the Japanese citizen)
about whales. The Japanese government shouldstop maneuvering its
people to hold an erroneous public opinion bypreventing their
access to accurate information. Here are three reasonswhy they
should stop: The fact that all the companies in the fishingindustry
no longer wish to start whaling again is being neglected. Evenif
whaling is permitted, there won't be any companies willing
toundertake it; Although there are whales that should be designated
asendangered species by Ministry of the Environment, they
aren'tdesignated because that is under the jurisdiction of the
fisheriesagency; The view that whaling is our unique cultural
heritage is overstretched and confused with the whale eating in
post-war scarcity.Traditionally, whale-eating is a culture of
coastal fishermen, noturban people in Edo, Kyoto, or Osaka, or
farmers. It is an ignored factthat a vast majority of Japanese have
never tastedwhales. Osaka
There is no nationalconsensus on wasting
taxpayer's money to make whales a source ofprotein. Kumamoto
Food culture varies fromcountry to country,
and it is often important for survival. Whaling inJapan once was
undoubtedly important when food was scarce; however,regarding
current food abundance in Japan and the environmentalconcerns in
the world, there is no point in continuing whaling. I wish,from the
bottom of my heart, that they would stop wasting our tax moneyon
whaling and start protecting whales instead. Tokyo
I regret that I had been indifferent towards
thewhaling problem for so long. It is the time to reconsider
"researchwhaling". The government should be accountable to
itspeople. Toyama
It is rare to observe suchan obvious act
against national interests. I understand that Japan isunavoidably
nervous about access to marine resources, but then weshould leave
the idea of being advantageous over other countries,respect the
international consensus, and approach the issue with thevirtue of
modesty. Our urgent tasks are not whaling in the AntarcticOcean but
the recovery of domestic environment and the restoration ofcoastal
fisheries. Saitama
I am dead setagainst research whaling. I
cannot see any point in causing antipathyin international society
with research whaling that does not appear tobe important for
Japan, only expensive. (…) There are plenty ofproblems in our
nation. Please do not embarrass our people withshameless actions
any more. (…) Osaka
Iate whale in extreme poverty after the war. I
haven't eaten whale sincethen for almost a half century. We don't
lose anything by not eatingwhale. Please stop eating whales and
free them, as they are not aprolific animal. Mie
I am fifty yearsold. I was born in a mountain
village in Akita and raised in a ratherpoor environment even for a
peasant. During my childhood, whale meatwas a rare treat, but I do
not wish to have it again. (…) Do Japanesepeople really want to eat
whale? Let us have a national poll. I'magainst whaling. Is there
any other country that kills such alarge-sized mammal like whale
for research? Please stop. Shizuoka
I am a seaman. Most seamen that I know are
againstwhaling (…). I miss those whales I used to encounter often
during avoyage. (…) I can no longer see those whales in the areas
where I usedto see them almost everyday. Research whaling is
commercial whalingdisguised in an academic coat. They can conduct
research withoutkilling whales. They gloss over things with the
word "food culture",but it is a rather new culture born with the
appearance of power-drivenvessels. In the first place, I can't
understand the people who thinkwhale meat is tasty. It stinks! When
whaling was in its full-bloom,they didn't appreciate it, but once
the price of whale meat rose theyjumped on it like those upstarts
do on luxury brand goods. Those abjectpeople are the shame of
Japan. If whaling is a Japanese ancienttradition, we should ban the
use of contemporary whaling technique andallow the use of ancient
technique only. Ehime
Statements like whales are eating up other
fish, and we needto protect marine resources are not good excuses
for allowing researchwhaling. It is not they but we who are eating
up the resources. It isalso important to clarify how much or on
what our tax payment isallocated. Chiba
Environmental issuesgive Japan a chance to
take a leading role as an advanced nation. To beamong the world
leaders we should be the first to protect theenvironment. Please
stop whaling. Osaka
Why are they "researching"? What has been the
outcome so far?Food is abundant in Japan. Do we need whales on the
table? Tokyo
I have never eaten whale nor felta need for
it. Why do they kill an animal on the verge of extinction?We are
losing precious life for something that is not important. Let'sbe
courageous and take action! Japan should protectwhales. Aichi
Is this the Japanesemanner? Is our nation
primitive? Science tells us we do not need tokill whales to
understand the details of their biology. Don'trepeatedly commit
crimes in the world seas, just because we cannot fishas much tuna
as before. It's disturbing! Japan is the only "advanced"country
that kills whale in areas that other countries preserve or inthe
Antarctic Ocean. Can you imagine? How do you feel if others
intrudeon our commitment with problems in the same manner?
Internationalcooperation and compliance with U.N. resolution sound
so empty. Don'tmake us and our children live in shame in the
international society. Wedidn't know our taxes were used on such a
thing. It must bedisclosed! Tokyo
Living overseas, I seehow those negative acts
[such as whaling] by Japan draw internationalattention outside of
Japan, and feel terribly ashamed and pathetic.Recognize this:
Although the world respects and admires Japanese artand culture, it
is concerned and distrusting of the behaviors andmeasures of its
government. If Japan makes a successful turn fromwhaling to
protection of whales, it will be a wonderful appeal to theworld.
Out of my love for Japan, I sincerely ask the government toregain
international credibility. Overseas
The following is
from a letter by a Japanese citizen living in Australia, sent to
Junichi Sato, the whales campaign director for Greenpeace
Japan:
This year, actions undertaken by young American actresses,
Australian actresses, surfers, and others and your article
published in the newspaper have helped to dispel the notion that
there is ill will against the Japanese and to convince some of us
albeit in small numbers that the Japanese government and whaling
industries (I apologize for not having a formal name for the
latter) have been withholding the truth from the Japanese people as
a way to protect their own interests and highlighting only positive
points for the media. However, in this critical year, I feel that
unless we Japanese act appropriately, we may be forcefully crushed
by other nations. If we do not take advantage of the opportunity
that this year represents, I fear that we will, at the very least,
be unable to stop Antarctic whaling while retaining our pride as
Japanese people.
Read the entire letter
here