(JP) Whaling Debate among Protection Groups

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http://www.asahi.com/english/national/K2002052000504.html

 

Whaling Debate/Getting real: Environmental groups see

their Japan branches rethink their absolute

anti-whaling stance

 

By JUN SAITO:The Asahi Shimbun

 

``It's impossible for us to get our policy understood

if we just stick to the old way of merely repeating

anti-whaling slogans.'' TETSU SATO WWF Japan

conservation director

 

SHIMONOSEKI-While the usual confrontation between the

pro- and anti-whaling camps looks certain to dominate

this week's meeting of the International Whaling

Commission (IWC), there are signs of a change that may

help break the 20-year stalemate.

 

The difference from previous years is an apparent

shift in attitude on the part of Japanese branches of

big-name nongovernmental organizations such as the

World Wide Fund for Nature and Greenpeace.

 

WWF Japan caused a commotion with the April issue of

its monthly bulletin, in which it clarified its stance

on the whaling issue.

 

The conservation group stated there is no reason to

reject arguments for commercial whaling provided a

strict, effective, precautionary system that protects

global whale resources is in place.

 

The new approach-a dramatic shift from its ``no

whaling no matter what'' stance-was also announced on

WWF Japan's Web site on April 1.

 

The announcement was immediately greeted with dismay

by people in Japan, while Japanese WWF members said

the foreign press reported ``in a distorted manner''

that WWF Japan approved the resumption of commercial

whaling.

 

The Japan branch was flooded with inquiries from WWF

members abroad, even though the new stance had been

accepted at earlier discussions between Japanese

branch members and members from abroad.

 

WWF Japan deleted the statement in question from its

Web site two days later-not as a retraction, but to

avoid creating more misunderstanding.

 

``Media reports on our stance were distorted. Our

intention is to make the whaling debate more

reasonable and realistic,'' said Tetsu Sato, WWF

Japan's conservation director.

 

Soon after assuming the post in October, Sato, an

ecology scholar, realized anti-whaling NGOs tended not

to base their arguments on scientific data.

 

``It's about time people stopped emotionally yelling

at one another. Once you say whaling is not allowed

under any circumstances, then discussions will go

nowhere,'' Sato said. ``It's impossible for us to get

our policy understood if we just stick to the old way

of merely repeating anti-whaling slogans.''

 

WWF Japan's earlier blind acceptance of the WWF

headquarters' whaling policy prevented Japanese

campaigners from fully considering why they were

opposing whaling, Sato said.

 

``In the current situation, in which NGOs simply keep

opposing whaling, while the Fisheries Agency is busy

trying to justify its aim of whaling using a pile of

scientific data, a solution will never be found. We

want to bridge this gap through our new stance,'' Sato

explained.

 

Since the IWC adopted a moratorium on commercial

whaling in 1982, the whaling debate has been dominated

by emotional arguments.

 

Another leading NGO, Greenpeace Japan, believes past

debate has been unproductive and it is concerned that

after years of fruitless confrontation between the two

opposing camps, the public will tire of the whaling

issue.

 

Greenpeace Japan's stance is that simply slinging mud

at the pro-whaling camp will not help matters.

 

``We need to adopt a more conciliatory position by

sharing information with ordinary citizens,'' said

Motoji Nagasawa, a whale campaigner with Greenpeace

Japan.

 

Last year, organization members decided to stop using

the phrase ``killing whales'' and say ``whaling''

instead. The change reflects the fact they want to win

the support of a wide range of people, including even

those connected to the whaling industry, Nagasawa

said.

 

In mid-February, Japanese Greenpeace campaigners held

heated discussions with more than 20 of the NGO's

international members over their stance on

anti-whaling campaigning.

 

One of their major disagreements was over the issue of

eating whale meat. The international campaigners were

convinced that all Japanese are keen to eat whale

meat, while the Japanese members explained that most

people are indifferent toward it.

 

After four days of debate, it was agreed the

anti-whaling stance would be maintained, but the

campaign in Japan would be mainly led by the Japanese

branch.

 

The whaling debate is complicated not only by overseas

misconceptions about Japanese people's attitude toward

whaling, but also by Japanese people's distorted

perceptions of the anti-whaling campaign.

 

``Unfortunately, many Japanese think anti-whaling

campaigners are a group of extremists or

troublemakers,'' Nagasawa said. ``It's important to

convey our message from the viewpoint of wildlife

conservation.''

 

Even though some NGOs are beginning to show signs of

change, it remains to be seen how they will influence

the course of future IWC discussions.

 

NGOs are nowhere near presenting a united front with

clearly thought-out strategies.

 

Nanami Kurasawa, a key campaigner for the Dolphin and

Whale Action Network, doubts the advisability of using

scientific approaches as advocated by WWF Japan's

Sato.

 

``Scientific discussion is always difficult for

ordinary citizens to understand. I'm afraid only

experts would be eager to join the debate,'' said

Kurasawa, who has been researching whaling activities

for more than 10 years.

 

Even so, Makoto Matsuo, associate professor of

environmental politics at Kyoto Seika University, said

WWF Japan's new stance will help spur more creative

debate by anti-whaling groups on how to develop future

campaigns.

 

``I hope the new approach will lead NGOs to consider

more constructive ideas about the whaling issue,'' he

said.

 

But Matsuo warned they should not take too cooperative

an attitude toward the government.

 

``NGOs should basically be independent and should

criticize what the government does from a realistic

viewpoint,'' he said.(IHT/Asahi: May 20,2002)

 

 

 

 

 

 

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