鈥淲E URGE a halt to the emotional approach,鈥� thundered the Yomiuri newspaper,
Japan鈥檚 largest daily. 鈥淐ool heads are needed when dealing with the issue.鈥�
The 鈥渋ssue鈥� is whaling. The whole thorny subject hit the headlines when Japan
expanded its 鈥渞esearch鈥� whaling operations into the North Pacific this summer
and the US imposed sanctions. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa also
weighed in with a demand that the debate should be 鈥渂ased on scientific logic,
rather than emotion鈥�.
Japan says that all the emotion is coming from the whale-hugging hotheads
across the Pacific. Its own approach鈥攚hich includes the idea that an end
to whaling will threaten both Japan鈥檚 whale-eating culture and the job security
of its whalers鈥攊s apparently cool, rational and 鈥渟cientific鈥�.
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The world long ago woke up to the fact that most Japanese don鈥檛 eat whale
meat and don鈥檛 care about the tiny minority who do. As for the poor, jobless
whaler, even the Establishment newspaper Asahi concedes that 鈥渢he ocean-going
whaling industry is already long dead and there is no longer any real need to be
concerned for the economic welfare of the nation鈥檚 once-numerous whalers and
whaling-related businesses鈥�.
Which is why Japan recently came up with a new argument: 鈥淭he priority for
Japan鈥檚 whale research in the North Pacific,鈥� proclaimed a statement from the
government鈥檚 Institute of Cetacean Research, is 鈥渢o study the consumption of
fish by whales in relation to the fisheries that provide food for humans鈥�.
No prizes for guessing why they鈥檙e so keen to gather this data. It could
greatly increase Japan鈥檚 support among members of the International Whaling
Commission who do not have an interest in whaling but who do have a stake in
fishing, countries such as Russia, South Korea and China. The ICR estimates that
cetaceans consume 鈥渢hree to five times the amount of marine resources harvested
for human consumption鈥�.
Based on preliminary results from the North Pacific research, Seiji Ohsumi,
the ICR鈥檚 director-general, even seems to believe that whales are responsible
for a decline in fish stocks. 鈥淚n the waters around Japan,鈥� he says, 鈥渨e have a
situation of declining catches in certain fisheries while at the same time the
sampling from our research programme reveals that minke whales are eating at
least 10 species of fish.鈥�
The oceans are indeed now depleted of fish, however this has happened in the
century that the fishing industry took to using sonar, factory ships and
100-kilometre drift nets. Before that, cetaceans caught fish for 70 million
years without endangering the resource.
The bluefin tuna, for example, has been fished almost to extinction thanks to
Japan鈥檚 large fishing fleet and a healthy national appetite for sushi. This is
not a fish targeted by whales. If the Japanese government is so concerned about
fish stocks, it might first consider banning drift net fishing and curtailing
its catches of endangered species like bluefin tuna. Yet the government opposes
these moves.
Blaming whales is neither rational nor scientific. It ducks the real reasons
and creates yet another excuse for killing the beleaguered whale. Arguments
about 鈥渇ood culture鈥� and protecting jobs are surely鈥攑ardon the
pun鈥攄ead in the water.