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Greenland court orders anti-whaling activist Paul Watson must remain in custody until Sept 5

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37 Comments
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Oh no! It means I can't go around endangering others' lives at sea, as I please? Can't play pirates anymore? Really "sad" for him.

-1 ( +17 / -18 )

Japan "has resumed whaling within it's exclusive economic zone "

Crap. Japanese whalers were either in or going to the north Pacific far from any so called "exclusive zone "

Why was Watson stopped in Greenland if the whaling he opposed was to be around Japan. ?

Article biased.

2 ( +13 / -11 )

Oh no! It means I can't go around endangering others' lives at sea, as I please? Can't play pirates anymore? Really "sad" for him.

That also meant more whale meat will be available in Japanese supermarket. You like that?

https://www.cnn.com/2023/01/24/asia/japan-whale-meat-vending-machine-intl-hnk/index.html

https://japan-forward.com/premium-whale-meat-at-tokyos-toyosu-market-commands-popular-interest/

-10 ( +6 / -16 )

Crap. Japanese whalers were either in or going to the north Pacific far from any so called "exclusive zone "

Japan is in the western North Pacific, so just how far do you think they will be going from Japan’s eez, and do you have any actual reason to believe they aren’t going to do what they say they are going to do?

Why was Watson stopped in Greenland if the whaling he opposed was to be around Japan. ?

Red alert.

Article biased.

I take it you are an anti-whaling type of person?

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

Pro-whaling, anti-whaling, this has nothing to do with that. This is about a man who damaged a ship and could have killed someone in his self-righteous mania against whaling. Anti-whalers should actually shed themselves of this sort of criminal. If whaling is bad, persuasion, debate, and argument goes further than piracy to address the perceived problem. If he thinks he did the right thing, then terrorists everywhere should get a pass on what they do.

3 ( +12 / -9 )

Gene above "persuasion, debate and argument " eh ?

Australia did that, and won, in an international court.

Challenged the basis of "scientific whaling "

Next year, Japan rebranded it "commercial whaling "

Japan also withdrew from the International group on whaling.

So, no avenues for "debate "

The whaling industry is totally dependent on taxpayer funding.2.5 billion yen in sales versus 5.5 billion in subsidies.

4 ( +10 / -6 )

fxgai above.

I checked.

Japans EEZ doesnt extend far past Hokkaido in the north actually.

Then it hits the Russian Islands.

So the question I posed {where were the ships intending to hunt } stands.

I'm OK with hunting in your EEZ, if thats what Japan wants.

Not a good practice but that's your EEZ

4 ( +9 / -5 )

That also meant more whale meat will be available in Japanese supermarket. You like that?

I just don't like consuming mercury.

-3 ( +5 / -8 )

I've been to Japan many times, currently living here a number of years , go shopping {of course } and I've only seen whale meat in a supermarket, once, in Osaka.

I dont believe it's consumption is widespread.

I do believe Govt. support has a number of reasons that dont include "Japanese people eat whale "

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Send this terrorist to Japan for a taste of how foreigners get treated in Japanese prison.

-3 ( +6 / -9 )

Yeah right above....

You seem to have suspended any idea of a fair hearing.

I think that's the argument Watson's lawyers will use.

No chance of a fair hearing in Japan.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

That also meant more whale meat will be available in Japanese supermarket. You like that?

Absolutely, who am I to say no to a good piece of bacon?

No chance of a fair hearing in Japan.

He'll get his day in court. He'll also get to justify piracy and life endangerment at sea. What do you think it'll happen then? The judge will personally thank him for his services with tears in his eyes and flowers in hands?

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Hi Guru Mick

If you have lived here for a while you will know how regional Japan is.

Customs, festivals, histories, industries and food can vary great between neighboring prefectures and districts.

Hoya, natto, sanma, the list of regional foods is long and whale meat is part of that list.

Just because you haven't seen whale meat in supermarkets besides Osaka doesn't mean that is isn't consumed.

A lot of whale meat is processed (hamburgers, etc) so we don't actually know what we are eating if we don't read that labels.

However I agree that this is a heavily subsidized and whaling would wither away without government (tax support).

5 ( +7 / -2 )

GuruMickToday  08:44 am JST

Gene above "persuasion, debate and argument " eh ?

Australia did that, and won, in an international court.

Challenged the basis of "scientific whaling "

Next year, Japan rebranded it "commercial whaling "

Incorrect. The JARPA II program ended in 2014 with the ICJ ruling. The NEWREP-A program, which addressed the shortcommings outlined in the ICJ ruling was then implemented in 2015. Japan did not leave the IWC and resume Commercial Whaling until 2019. Since then Japan has continued to hunt whales solely in it's territorial waters and EEZ.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

This guy is a hero and should not come to japan ,he should be set free and given a new ship to command

-8 ( +4 / -12 )

I dont believe its consumption is widespread.

Neither do I.

Japan doesn’t catch a lot of whales, and hasn’t for decades. The whaling commission’s bogus ban on whaling precluded them from catching any commercially, which was an obvious constraint on supply.

The amount they catch now outside of the IWC is low and, in constraining themselves to Japan’s EEZ leaving whales on the high seas off limits, they are not going to be catching very many until such a time as circumstances change.

So of course there is not a lot of whale to be eaten.

Nonetheless, you should definitely try some fried whale sometime. I highly recommend it.

0 ( +6 / -6 )

Ossan above...I dont dispute what you write, but boy, that does seem a lot of twisting and wriggling on Japan's part, accepting jurisdiction , then leaving that jurisdiction, forming bogus things like "scientific whaling bodies "{Japanese } to seem like you are doing research and a host of other things.

I think Govt. {taxpayer } support for whaling is a way for politicians to shore up votes and a "passive aggressive " way for Japan to thumb it's nose at the world while crying "It's our culture " !

One thing is sure....Japan's Courts follow what the prosecutor says is true.

The thinking is "why would the prosecution tell lies "/, to believe so would mean a loss of face.

Ipso facto...no fair hearing for Watson.

This story has legs

-1 ( +4 / -5 )

Not a fan of eating whale / dolphin but this guy is a terrorist, so tough call.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

More time for Watson to study basic Japanese..

He will need it for sure..

-5 ( +4 / -9 )

Iceland takes whales. Norway takes whales. The venom is always pointed solely at the Japanese.

Regardless, we're talking about a terrorist here. What this man did deserves punishment and if not by Japan then by the Dutch. He attacked a Japanese whaler. He looks more like an Icelander or Norwegian, so his targeting Japan has doubtful merit.

4 ( +9 / -5 )

So, He get support from A-list Celebrities, Why was this mentioned ? people the likes of Epstein and Maxwell, well known and was one of these so called A-listers. So the relevance can be good and really bad. So Watson who was promoted by Maxwell was one of these really bad A-Lister He got indorse by. Does this make Watson a fool ? Certainly yes. Thank for pointing out the fact that Watson had A-Listers for support.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Under appeal to the High Court of Greenland.

Expect a lot of this. Then this is Denmark proper and then the EU and they have more courts than you've had hot dinners.

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

GuruMickToday  10:19 am JST

Ossan above...I dont dispute what you write, but boy, that does seem a lot of twisting and wriggling on Japan's part, accepting jurisdiction , then leaving that jurisdiction, forming bogus things like "scientific whaling bodies "{Japanese } to seem like you are doing research and a host of other things.

Japan accepted ICJ jurisdiction in 2014, and never "left" it. Unless you are incorrectly using the term to refer to the Antarctic Seas, which despite being the subject of claims by several nations, falls under the jurisdiction of no one country in accordance with the Antarctoc Treaty of 1961, to which Australia is a signatory.

There is nothing "bogus" about Japans past Research Whaling programs. They were carried out in accordance with plans filed with the IWC Scientific Committee who received all their research data. When the Moratoriumon Commercial Whaling was implemented by the IWC in 1986 there was a provision that it would be periodically reviewed and subject to modification subject to the IWC Scientific Comittee. Japan in it's ignorance attempted to accomplish just that. After all some whale species, such as the Minkes had made significant comebacks since 1986. But the anti-whaling states in the IWC had an agenda to never let the Moratorium be reviewed. Finally fed upp, Japan left the IWC in 2019. Norway and Iceland while remaining IWC members raised objections to the Moratorium and contiued to carry out Commercial Whaling.

Ipso facto...no fair hearing for Watson.

Watson is not charged with anything that pertains to the issue of whaling one way or the other. He is charged with acts of violence, which are crimes anywhere. Whining that they won't be "treated fairly" is the usual behavior of guilty men. Innocent men go and refute the charges.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

That also meant more whale meat will be available in Japanese supermarket. You like that?

Yes, I do. It goes great with beer.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

, have drawn support from A-list celebrities

Yeah right and they have leather bags and wear mink coats and eat meat. Please!

2 ( +5 / -3 )

Not a fan of eating whale / dolphin but this guy is a terrorist, so tough call.

You don't have to be a fan of whale or dolphin meat, you just have to respect Japanese people's right to eat them. It is a Japanese tradition.

This guy is a hero and should not come to japan ,he should be set free and given a new ship to command

Wrong. This Canadian-American is no hero, he is an eco-terrorist. He has been kicked out of Greenpeace (in his early 20s) and booted from the Sea Shepherd organisation two years back for his radical, violent behaviour. Watson has been known to bombard Japanese sailors with butyric acid. An incredibly dangerous chemical.

Denmark will certainly extradite Watson - and he will have his day in court in Japan. The courts will never discriminate against him because he is a foreigner.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Japan's arrest warrant dates back 12 years. Mr. Watson has made a lot of port calls in Greenland and other EU nations in those 12 years. Why arrest him now? What suddenly changed? There is more to this.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

My birthday is the 5th of September. Please extend his detention as a birthday gift to me!

Tossing explosive devices at ships on the open sea is ludicrous.

I have eaten whale in many forms. A Japanese friend in his mid 70s talks about having whale 2 or 3 times a week for lunch at school. He doesn't relish the memory, but says that it is what they had.

Whales are intelligent beings.

Japan has rights, as does any country. His actions have consequences. Let him experience them.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

I think Govt. {taxpayer } support for whaling is a way for politicians to shore up votes and a "passive aggressive " way for Japan to thumb it's nose at the world while crying "It's our culture " !

Of course.

Politicians are supposed to represent the interests and views of their voters, not a bunch of hippies from the other side of the planet.

Thats the same reason that politicians of those places where the hippies reside were against whaling - otherwise they’d just mind their own business.

Japan’s government ultimately failed its whaling industry through its being outmaneuvered in the whaling commission. In the end, those decisions were foolish because the whaling commission had been sabotaged by politicians representing anti-whaling countries.

Japan finally quit it in the end, but only after decades of damage to domestic whaling interests.

Iceland and Norway played their cards smarter.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

We will see how Danmark will decide.

The case against him is not really about whaling.

It is about dangerous behavior while on the high sea.

For safety reason, ships have to keep a distance from each other.

To ram deliberately other ships - especially a fuel supply ship in the stern - on the high seas in icy waters are very dangerous actions, by Maritime Law this is a serious crime tantamount to piracy.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

 If Watson does go to prison - which is looking more likely by the day

Guilty until proven innocent in Japan.

You openly concede he cannot receive a fair trial in Japan with that statement.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

And that is the crux and fundamental bottom line of this issue: Paul Watson cannot receive a fair trial in Japan.

For the EU to allow basic breaches of individual human rights that run contrary to EU principles and law is an abandonment of what Brussels stand for.

Japan's hostage 'justice system' is the antithesis of EU law and rights.

-8 ( +2 / -10 )

Cutting to the chase, bro is the weirdest combination of badass and cringe. Let him go but confiscate his little boats. He's a well-meaning imbecile.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

Guilty until proven innocent

Innocent (but under arrest because he has fled before) until judged as guilty. Which will 100% happen, given his actions. The trial itself is almost a formality given the evidence publicly available.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

Good decision. Now send him back to Japan. There he can use his activists acumen and do something really useful: protest against and try to change the Japanese criminal system.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

I used to watch that 'Whale Wars' reality show that followed Watson and his marauding gang of hippies on their boat as they harassed Japanese whaling vessels in Antarctic waters.

I started out kind of on the side of Watson, but the hippies were so annoying that I soon found myself hoping the Japanese would harpoon a whale right off Watson's bow and flay the sumbitch on the deck right in from of them.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

This ruling just means that he isn't free to run while Denmark decides if he is to be extradited to Japan. That's the entire limit of the remaining legal proceedings.

There won't be any guilt or innocence assigned in a Danish court.

If he is extradited to Japan, Japanese courts will decide innocence or guilt.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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