Greenpeace Commentary
Japan's "Fake" Whaling Programme begins to Crumble in the Southern Ocean and Tokyo
Southern Ocean, January 18, 2008: Echoing a series of scandals which have beset the Japanese government over the past
twelve months, Greenpeace activists today sent a message direct from the Southern Ocean back to Tokyo, as pressure
mounts inside Japan to end its controversial whaling programme.
Holding the kanji symbol of the year [1], nise, meaning FAKE - against the hull of the Japanese whaling fleet's factory
ship Nisshin Maru, Japan whales campaigner Sakyo Noda sent a message to the people of Japan that this is yet another in
a series of scandals that their government is trying to cover up by claiming that its whaling programme is legitimate
research.
Today, one of the leading newspapers in Japan, Asahi Shimbun, also called into question the validity of the whaling
programme [2], by asking "Why is the Japanese government so insistent on engaging in whaling?". The article cites
concerns about the use of taxpayer's money, dubious science, the lack of interest from the fishing industry in
supporting the whaling programme, and the fact that former employees of the Japanese government Fisheries Agency were
"parachuted" into key roles in the supposedly independent Institute of Cetacean Research - the agency which commissions
the whaling fleet.
"For the past week we have stopped the whaling programme here in the Southern Ocean", said Japan whales campaigner Sakyo
Noda. "In Japan there is now growing concern about this fake science, giving new opportunities to show how scandalous it
is, in order to close it down for good," said Noda.
In addition, Tokyo's comments on the whaling programme are now usually handled by both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Cabinet Office, a clear indication that the government is losing confidence in its own Fisheries Agency, the
ministry that normally deals with whaling issues.
Earlier today, the Yushin Maru No.2, one of the harpoon-carrying "catcher boats" joined with the Nisshin Maru hundreds
of miles north of the whale hunting grounds, where the Greenpeace ship Esperanza continues to keep the fleet's mother
ship out of action.
The Esperanza has been chasing the Nisshin Maru since it discovered the whaling fleet in the early hours of January 12th
- the factory ship then fled from the whaling grounds. Without the Nisshin Maru, the rest of the fleet cannot hunt,
because the whales must be transferred to the factory vessel, cut up and frozen immediately after being harpooned. The
whalers plan to kill 935 minke whales this season, as well as 50 endangered fin whales.
"We have kept the factory ship and the rest of the fleet out of action for six days now" said expedition leader Karli
Thomas. "No whales have been killed in that time. Now we've got two whalers out of the hunting grounds. If they try to
return and begin hunting, we'll be launching our boats and carrying out peaceful, direct action, by putting ourselves in
front of the harpoons to defend the whales".
Japan's so-called scientific research programme has been dismissed as useless by the International Whaling Commission,
of which Japan is a member, and in 2007 the organisation passed a resolution calling for an end to Japan's whaling in
the Southern Ocean Whaling Sanctuary.
Notes to Editors:
1. In 2007, 90,816 people voted for the Kanji of the Year by internet, postcard and by attending the Kiyomizu Temple in
Kyoto, for the nise or gi kanji symbol, following numerous consumer scandals involving the false labeling of food and
recycled paper and political funding and faulty pension records in Japan. (http://www.kanken.or.jp/event/index.html)
2. Asahi Shimbun, 18/1/2008
For more on Greenpeace Japan's work on whaling see: www.whalelove.org
Greenpeace is an independent campaigning organisation that uses non-violent creative confrontation to expose global
environmental problems to force solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future.
Contact: Dave Walsh, Greenpeace International communications officer on board the Esperanza. Sara Holden, Greenpeace
International Whales Project leader, on board the Esperanza. Tel: +873 324 469 014 and +47 514 079 86
Junichi Sato, Greenpeace Japan Whales Project leader, Tokyo. Tel:+81-80-5088-2990
ENDS