Greenpeace Japan Exective Director Jun Hoshikawa (3rd/R), Greenpeace Japan Fundraising Director Takumi Kobayashi (2nd/L), Greenpeace Japan Project Coordinator Malcolm Wren (2nd/R) are joined by Ohma fishing cooperative head Hirofumi Hamabata (L) and local farmer Shigenobu Araki in a celebratory ribbon cutting ceremony kicking off the opening of Greenpeace Japan's Aomori Communication Centre in Aomori, northern Japan.
The "Tokyo Two" - Greenpeace activists Junichi Sato and Toru
Suzuki - were arrested and held without charge for 26 days last
year after they intercepted a quantity of whale meat stolen by crew
from the whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru. Their trial will take
place in the traditional northern fishing and whaling town of
Aomori in the coming months. They face up to 10 years in jail.
The Aomori communications office, opened yesterday with a
traditional sake barrel ceremony, will be a place where Greenpeace
can talk to the public about Japan's commercial whaling, as well as
other issues like ocean conservation, climate change and genetic
modification. New Zealanders will work at the centre.
Greenpeace New Zealand oceans campaigner Karli Thomas says that
talking directly to the people of Japan is vital to ending
commercial whaling.
"We'll be talking to them about whether taxpayers' money should
continue to be spent on expensive whaling expeditions which produce
science nobody needs, and stockpiles of whale meat that fewer and
fewer people want," she said.
"The future of whaling is in their hands. When the Japanese
people decided that whaling is no longer acceptable and that it is
causing more harm than good, they will tell their government
that."
Public events, including a conference on sustainable fishing,
are planned for the centre for coming months and will focus on
building healthy oceans and marine reserves.
Greenpeace Japan executive director Jun Hoshikawa said that many
Greenpeace sustainability campaigns have special relevance to
Aomori.
"This is one of Japan's most crucial fishery and agriculture
centres, so we're here to listen, to understand, to explain, and to
help take on problematic issues like the impacts of industrial
fishing, which stand in the way of communities like Aomori finding
a more sustainable relationship with the ocean, for the sake of
future generations," he said.
Ends
Other contacts: Karli Thomas, Greenpeace New Zealand oceans campaigner, ph 021 905 582
Notes: Greenpeace’s investigation of the stolen whale meat scandal can be found at http://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/reports/whale-meat-scandal-dossier