It's been a week of crisis and confusion for the beleaguered
whaling industry, fuelled by contradictory statements; Japanese
media reported claims from sources within the whaling industry that
it was cutting its self-appointed quota of whale kills by 20% [2].
This was later contradicted by Japan Fisheries Agency officials [3]
who claimed the target of 935 minke whales and 50 endangered fin
whales would be maintained.
It was also revealed that for the first time, the fleet is
sailing without an all-Japanese crew, with regular crew members
unwilling to sail following this year's exposure of a whale meat
embezzlement scandal [4] by a Greenpeace undercover investigation.
Also this week, it was announced that 'Yushin,' the flagship whale
meat shop and restaurant in Asakusa, Tokyo, will close down in 2010
due to ongoing financial problems [5]. The whaling fleet's
refueling and cargo vessel, Oriental Bluebird was recently
deflagged following a ruling by Panamian Authorities, which is
expected to greatly impact the whaling fleet's capacity to
transport whale meat back to Japan.
"Constant pressure on Japan's whaling industry by both
Greenpeace and the international community has reduced the fleet to
sneaking out of port in a fog of crisis and scandal, desperate to
avoid attention", said Sara Holden, Greenpeace International Whales
Coordinator. "With factions within the industry unable to agree on
the commercial rationale behind killing whales for so-called
"research" purposes, it's clear that that the entire whaling
programme is a shambles, driven by bad business and worse
science."
Greenpeace will not be sending a ship to the Southern Ocean
Whale Sanctuary this year, instead focusing on working to end
whaling from within Japan, where 71% of the public do not support
Japan's taxpayer-subsidised whaling programme [6]. Two Greenpeace
activists, Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki, known as the Tokyo Two,
have been denied their liberty for 145 days, since a Greenpeace
investigation exposed the embezzlement of whale meat from the
factory ship Nisshin Maru. Japanese authorities have mounted a
politically motivated prosecution, putting the Junichi and Toru on
trial early next year; they face up to 10 years in jail for
intercepting whale meat stolen by crew from the whaling factory
ship Nisshin Maru [7].
"The obvious disarray within the whaling industry, and the
extreme overreaction by the authorities towards the Junichi and
Toru shows that Greenpeace's work in Japan is coming to fruition,
by revealing the whaling programme as an expensive and embarrassing
sham", said Jun Hoshikawa, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan.
"It's the beginning of the end for Japan's whaling programme. The
whale meat market in Japan has collapsed; it's time for Japanese
taxpayers to demand the government stop subsidising this bankrupt
programme, and to order the fleet home."
Other contacts: Dave Walsh, Greenpeace International Media, in Ireland: +35 387 220 7023Keiko Shirokawa, Greenpeace Japan Media, in Tokyo: +81 90 3470 7884Greenpeace International press desk, Amsterdam: +31 20 718 2470Greenpeace International video, Amsterdam: +31 646197322Greenpeace International picture desk, +1 206 3006511 (Seattle, GMT-8): 
Notes: 1) According to phone conversations with Mr Okazaki, chief priest at the Injyoji shrine in Shimonoseki, the prayer ceremony prior to the whaling fleet's departure has been held at his shrine for the last five years, with fleet operator Kyodo Senpaku acting as sponsor. However, Mr Okazaki said that Kyodo Senpaku had decided against sponsoring this year's ceremony.Mr Takahashi at the Kameyama Hachimangu shrine in Shimonoseki said in a phone conversation that his shrine would host a prayer ceremony on December 1st, sponsored by a whaling support organization (not Kyodo Senpaku) - after the whaling fleet has departed.In another phone conversation, a Mr Shimono from the Port Authority of Shimonoseki said that the Fisheries Agency of Japan application to use the port from the beginning of November had been canceled by the end of September, and that no further re-application had been received.2) A report in Japanese newspaper Asahi Shinbun cites sluggish demand for whale meat, pressure from protests at sea and the continued opposition from Europe and Australia as reasons for the reduction in the minke whale quota from 945 minke whales to 750. The quota of 50 endangered fin whales remains unchanged.http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200811130163.html3) International Herald Tribune, November 13th 2008: http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/11/13/asia/AS-Japan-Whaling.php4) Greenpeace investigation: Japan's stolen whale meat scandal, May 15 2008 - dossier available from: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/whale-meat-scandal-dossier5) Nikkei, November 11th 2008: The Institute of Cetacean Research and whaling fleet operators Kyodo Sempaku announced a rationalization plan, including the cancellation of open-boat departure ceremonies and the closing of of "Yushin", its whale meat shop in Asakusa, Tokyo by 2010.6) Nippon Research Center (member of Gallup International Association) opinion poll on whaling in Japan, 2008:http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/japanese-opinion-whaling-20087) Junichi and Toru were arrested on June 20th, and spent 26 days in custody before being charged. Bail conditions require that they request permission to be away from home for more than three days. http://www.greenpeace.org/tokyo-twoAmnesty International has denounced the arrest as being politically motivated, and in a periodic evaluation completed last month, 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. UN Human Rights Committee, Ninety-fourth session, Geneva, 13-31 October 2008, concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee on Japan, UN Doc. CCPR/C/JPN/CO/5, para. 26, available at http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/co/CCPR-C-JPN-CO.5.doc