Toru Suzuki, one of the Tokyo Two activists, answers Greenpeace supporter questions about Japan's whaling industry, and the Greenpeace campaign to stop whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Junichi Sato, the other Tokyo Two activist, has written a blog for the Guardian this week. "Whaling in Japan is on the verge of collapse". You can read it here.
(Unregistered) ida says:
Thank you toru. you and junichi are heroes! i would like to know if you get financial help from green peace? i am worried because of your scrafice to fight whaling, you are in financial trouble. I would like greenpeace make sure that the families of these heroes are OK. as Toru said hardly anyone in japan eats whale meat. certainly other fishes like tuna are in demand. there are many Japanese i think are very eco-loving. i heard that someone in japan is trying to help transitioning the whalers to a different livihood. I would like if they are getting our support. thanks for everyone who are out there for the fight. it means a lot to me.
Posted 10 February, 2011 at 17:24 Flag abuse Reply
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(Unregistered) omar151 says:
if whaling ever does come to an end... watch obama take credit for it. when he hasnt done anything about it. except add 10years to it. i dont like oba...
if whaling ever does come to an end... watch obama take credit for it. when he hasnt done anything about it. except add 10years to it. i dont like obama not keeping his promise
Posted 12 February, 2011 at 3:20 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) JISsupportsgreen says:
YAY! Sorry to break it to ya bt Japan isnt the only one you need to talk to. Faroe island is killing pilot whales just to show a guys maturity. God......
YAY! Sorry to break it to ya bt Japan isnt the only one you need to talk to. Faroe island is killing pilot whales just to show a guys maturity. God.... bring flowers, read poems instead!
Posted 15 February, 2011 at 11:12 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) veskebjorn says:
I appreciate Greenpeace's efforts in many arenas, including the campaign to end the killing of whales. I am stunned and perplexed, however, by Greenpe...
I appreciate Greenpeace's efforts in many arenas, including the campaign to end the killing of whales. I am stunned and perplexed, however, by Greenpeace's failure to acknowledge what the entire world's media are saying. And that is the Sea Shepard folks are largely, if not entirely, responsible for forcing this year's Japanese whaling fleet to return, almost entirely empty-handed, to Japan. I can understand the hurt feelings. I know nothing of the personalities of Greenpeace staffers. I know next to nothing about the Sea Shepard folks, other than a few glimpses of them in "Whale Wars" (a must-see program in my household, except for me). I think the Sea Shepard folk are sometimes over the top, but as an civil rights, anti-war, anti-draft activist in the 60s and 70s, I know that the most effective advocates for social change are almost always obstreperous, confrontational, and worse. Based on your organization's statements and actions, as well as Sea Shepard's, it seems certain that the reason you don't give Sea Shepard credit for their successes is that one or more of your leaders loathe Sea Shepard's founder, Paul Watson, who is also one of Greenpeace's founds. Again, while I can understand this loathing, I commend the example of the Sierra Club and Friends of the Earth to you. David Brower, the first executive director of the Sierra Club, was forced out of his position in 1969 because of disagreements about policies and tactics. He went on to found Friends of the Earth (and several other environmental organizations), which led the environmental movement for many years. He was reconciled with the Sierra Club in 1983 and elected to the group's board of directors. I believe Greenpeace should acknowledge the contributions of the Sea Shepard Conservation Society. Unless and until you do, the public impression of your group's efforts will be negatively affected by your childish behavior with respect to Mr. Watson.
Posted 17 February, 2011 at 19:38 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) patmonk says:
SEA SHEPHERD has earned, and deserves, enormous credit and gratitude for their total daily committment to putting their lives on the front line of thi...
SEA SHEPHERD has earned, and deserves, enormous credit and gratitude for their total daily committment to putting their lives on the front line of this struggle. Failure to do so by ANY environmental protection organisation reflects negatively on their motives. Patrick Monk.RN. San Francisco. Ca. USA.
Posted 17 February, 2011 at 23:55 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) drive23 says:
I applaud the actions of Toru and Junichi and their struggle to save these beautiful creatures. At the end of the day, all that matters is that these...
I applaud the actions of Toru and Junichi and their struggle to save these beautiful creatures. At the end of the day, all that matters is that these beautiful creatures live. Any action to save them is ok in my book but to ask Greenpeace to publicly agree with the actions of the Sea Shepherd is a huge mistake. Lots of Japanese people (including myself) don't agree with whaling but they hate the actions of the Sea Shepherd. Yes the Sea Shepherd succeeded this time but are their actions a long term solution? If you don't get the support of Japan and their people what you have is a small bandaid. Greenpeace is doing something that i view as more important in the longterm while the Sea Shepherd is applying a short term fix. Do you really think Sea Shepherd would win if it was Japan vs the Sea Shepard? Like I said both methods are necessary but for Greenpeace to acknowledge the SS would be a huge mistake because as of now most Japanese people just see them as terrorists.
Posted 18 February, 2011 at 3:02 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) First name says:
" Like I said both methods are necessary but for Greenpeace to acknowledge the SS would be a huge mistake because as of now most Japanese people ...
" Like I said both methods are necessary but for Greenpeace to acknowledge the SS would be a huge mistake because as of now most Japanese people just see them as terrorists." By that rational, you are supporting Sea Shepherd methods. Doesn't matter how most Japanese sees Sea Shepherd. that is because most people in japan have never heard of Sea Shepherd, ( or commercial research whaling) because the Japanese media like to keep the people in the dark, and the ones that do know of them are almost all connected with whaling or belong to far right groups. So they can shout "eco terrorist' all they like. At the end of the day, Sea Shepherd just sent the whalers packing from the Southern Ocean. Not just packing either. Due to their highly effective campaign in the Southern ocean for the past 7 years or so, the whalers have gone home under quota and are now almost broke. The whalers will have a hard time begging for money for a new supply vessel and for money for an upgrade to the Nishin Maru. Anyone who claims Sea Shepherd is offering band aid solutions to a gaping problem is disingenuous & needs to start doing some research of their own. Sea Shepherd are out there and getting the job done.
Posted 8 March, 2011 at 11:55 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) shaun says:
Im so glad that there are people in japan who believe the killing of whales and dolphins is wrong and should stop, i htink the sea shepherd does a gre...
Im so glad that there are people in japan who believe the killing of whales and dolphins is wrong and should stop, i htink the sea shepherd does a great job by forcing the japanese ships from the antartic, but what these two greenpeace activists are doing is good too, all the help the whales can get is nessasary and all helps. the sea shepherd does more than my australian government who seem to be in the pockets of the japanese whaling industry, im a suporter of both organisations and am really proud of our japanese conservation counterparts, good stuff
Posted 12 March, 2011 at 16:09 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) Gary says:
I was on the Bob Barker this year. We spent 94 days at sea shutting down the illegal activities of the whaling fleet. I am sure that Greenpeace...
I was on the Bob Barker this year. We spent 94 days at sea shutting down the illegal activities of the whaling fleet. I am sure that Greenpeace are doing some great things elsewhere in the world, however when I returned back to Australia we found Greenpeace Fundraisers canvasing the streets of Sydney collecting funds for "Save the Whale". When approached they asked me to donate, and told me their ships had just got back from the Southern Ocean where they had chased the Japanese whalers out. (I was not wearing my SSCS crew shirt at the time). When I told them who I was, they went very coy, as I explained to them that what they are doing is basically fraud. They are cheating the general public out of money by lying to them and saying that GP were there. The average person in Australia probably had seen the news and the videos of small boats racing across the bows and harassing the whalers and just assume it is GP. As Emily Hunter (the daughter of GP founder Robert Hunter) told the Captain of the Esperanza, "You are a sham". This petty rivalry between the two organisations is ridiculous, but taking credit for other peoples hard work is in-excusable. Oh, and who ever came up with the idea of sending paper origami whales to Pres. Obama needs their head read. 1. The US do not conduct large scale whaling in the southern oceans 2. what a waste of paper which even if recycled has wasted tons of energy to produce 3. what a waste of energy in transporting by mail to the white house. Really need to have a reality check here.
Posted 27 March, 2011 at 7:25 Flag abuse Reply
(Unregistered) dennis says:
japan please stop whaling, nature would be very angry , nature has already started what it can do.......
Posted 2 April, 2011 at 12:07 Flag abuse Reply
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