Japan vows to battle anti-whaling 'imperialism'

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Posted: 19 June 2005 1109 hrs

 

Japan vows to battle anti-whaling 'imperialism'

 

TOKYO - Japan is ready to battle " fanatic "

anti-whaling nations at an international meeting

opening Monday and could stage a walk-out, believing

the hunt is an inseparable part of its culture.

 

For Japan, which usually prefers quiet diplomacy in

the international arena, killing and eating whales is

not an environmental issue but a struggle against what

it sees as " imperialism " -- particularly by Australia,

which lies near whaling waters.

 

Japan is widely expected to use the meeting of the

International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Ulsan, South

Korea to announce an expansion of its controversial

but fiercely-defended hunt.

 

" Countries such as Australia and New Zealand say they

would not let a single whale be hunted no matter how

healthy whale stocks are, " said Hideki Moronuki of

Japan's Fisheries Agency.

 

" These fanatic anti-whaling countries ... may also

include Italy, Germany and Britain. But there are some

other anti-whaling countries that are a bit cooler, "

said the assistant director at Japan's Far Seas

Fisheries Division.

 

Moronuki said there were also some " neutral " countries

that have shown understanding for the controlled

resumption of commercial whaling, allowing Japan to

maintain dialogue at the IWC.

 

" But if all anti-whaling countries become like

Australia, we would have no reason to stay at the IWC.

We would have to take a withdrawal card out of our

pocket, " he told AFP. " We keep it as an option. "

 

Excavations indicate that Japanese have been whaling

for more than 2,000 years. The animal became even more

ingrained in Japanese culture after World War II, when

the nation was suffering an acute food shortage.

 

But Japan's Fisheries Agency argues that whaling is

not " a simple issue of whether there is something else

to eat. "

 

" Various ethnic groups and peoples have given special

status to various forms of life, " the agency says in a

statement on its website.

 

" Cows, which are generally considered food, are sacred

animals in India. Deer are considered divine

messengers on the Japanese island of Kinkasan but are

just a common menu item in French cuisine, " it says.

 

" It should be called an act of 'cultural imperialism'

and should not be tolerated that certain ethnic groups

or peoples press their sense of values towards animals

of their selection on other groups or peoples. "

 

In 1986, Japan reluctantly accepted an IWC moratorium

on commercial whaling.

 

But it has carried out " research " whaling since 1987,

killing hundreds of whales a year in line with the IWC

charter but under harsh criticism by anti-whaling

nations, which see it as commercial whaling in

disguise.

 

There is no problem with whales ending up in Japanese

supermarkets and restaurants because under IWC rules

research whale meat must be processed and sold so it

is not wasted, Japanese officials say.

 

Japan also says lethal research is necessary for

accurate data on whales' ages, eating habits and other

details and to prove its view that whale species such

as the minke are thriving and consuming valuable fish

stock -- an argument fiercely contested by

environmentalists.

 

Tokyo has submitted a new plan on research whaling to

the IWC scientific committee in South Korea amid

reports that it intends to nearly double its annual

catch of minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean,

currently set at 440.

 

It also aims to catch the larger humpback and fin

whales, which are considered endangered by the World

Conservation Union, Japanese news reports said.

 

IWC rules oblige Japan not to disclose details of its

plan until the start of the annual meeting, set for

Monday.

 

" A new program will enable us to get more information

from the research. A new research program would

otherwise be meaningless, " Moronuki said.

 

He added that Japan hoped to see pro-whaling countries

gain a majority vote at this year's meeting, short of

the three-quarters needed for decision-making but

enough to get non-binding resolutions through.

 

" When whaling countries say the world is against

research whaling, it actually means only half of the

IWC member countries, or some 30 countries, are

against.

 

" If a resolution embracing the concept of sustainable

use of whale stocks is passed, we want to do what

anti-whaling countries have done and say 'the world

supports whaling', " Moronuki said. - AFP/ir