(JP) Prowhaling group sends message to IWC

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Prowhaling group sends message to IWC

 

A prowhaling lobby group held a special gathering in

Tokyo on Thursday and called for the resumption of

commercial whaling.

The entreaty came alongside the ongoing meeting of the

International Whaling Commission in Shimonoseki,

Yamaguchi Prefecture.

 

Some 500 group members adopted a resolution demanding

that the IWC lift an international moratorium on

commercial whaling.

 

The group consists of 32 bodies from the public and

private sectors, including the Fisheries Agency, while

lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition blocs

also attended the gathering.

 

" Some antiwhaling countries say eating whale is

barbaric, but I consider such a stance to be cultural

imperialism, " ' opined Shunichi Suzuki of the Liberal

Democratic Party.

 

Yoshiko Nakabayashi of the Japanese Communist Party

said, " Excessive exploitation must be prevented, but

whaling should be resumed under strict monitoring

systems to maintain Japan's traditional gastronomic

culture. "

 

After the gathering, the participants conducted a

parade near the Diet building. A big whale float

headed the parade, which also featured banners

emblazoned with the following phrases: " Whales are

precious food " and " We eat whales and protect them. "

 

Japan is one of the few developed countries that has

yet to abandon whaling altogether.

 

It conducts research whaling activities, ostensibly to

gather biological data on whales, claiming the program

is valid under the IWC's founding convention. The meat

from the expeditions is put on the market.

 

Other major maritime nations, such as the United

States, Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and

South Africa, ceased their commercial whaling

activities in the 1960s and 1970s.

 

The IWC meeting in Shimonoseki started April 25 and

will run until May 24.

 

The Japan Times: May 10, 2002

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