Greenpeace response to reports of a 20 per cent reduction in the Japanese Government whaling quota
Tokyo, Japan, 13 November 2008 - According to news reports in Japan this morning, there will be a 20 per cent reduction
in the number of whales targeted in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary hunt this year - the first reduction since 1987.
The report in Asahi Shinbum cites lack of demand for whale meat, pressure from protests at sea and the continued
opposition from Europe and Australia as reasons for the reduction in the minke whale quota from 945 minke whales to 750.
The quota of 50 endangered fin whales remains unchanged.
"We are seeing the beginning of the end of whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary," said Karli Thomas, Greenpeace
New Zealand Oceans Campaigner. "If today's reports are true we congratulate the Japanese government for making this
first step, but they can and must go further and we will not stop until the quota is zero."
The news follows hard on the heels of Greenpeace revelations that the industry has been unable to crew this year's
voyage with an all-Japanese crew for the first time, that the traditional ceremony seeing the fleet off from Shimonoseki
has been cancelled, and that 'Yushin,' the flagship whale meat shop and restaurant in Asakusa, Tokyo, will close shop in
2010 due to ongoing financial problems. [1]
Greenpeace has sent ships to interfere with the hunt in the Southern Ocean nine times since the Japanese government
research whaling programme in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary began 20 years ago, including keeping them on the run
for more than two weeks last season.
Opposition inside Japan is also growing. Earlier this year two Greenpeace activists in Japan were arrested for exposing
corruption within the whaling programme. The political prosecution of Junichi Sato and Toru Suzuki has been denounced by
Amnesty International and, in a periodic evaluation completed last month, the United Nations Human Rights Committee
severely reprimanded the Japanese government for the "unreasonable restrictions placed on freedom of expression" in
Japan. It also condemned the abuse of trespass laws by Japanese police to harass activists who are critical of
government policy.
"The extreme reaction by the authorities shows Greenpeace's work in Japan has put the whaling establishment under
pressure" said Jun Hoshikawa, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan. "The whale meat market has clearly collapsed and
is unprofitable, and the stigma of scandal and corruption has made it an unattractive and less lucrative industry to
work for. The whaling industry's days are numbered, and it's time for the Japanese taxpayer to demand the government
stops subsidising this bankrupt programme."
ENDS