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Anti-whaling ruling saves face for Japan

13 Comments
By MARI YAMAGUCHI

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13 Comments
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The ruling still allows Japan to come back through other loopholes in time. Let’s just hope they (the government) really did want it shut down and makes excuses not to let it start again.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Love that second photo - the ginger haired chap’s smile is priceless.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Japan intends to continue Antarctic whale hunt with new research program: Sea Shepherd http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-13/japan-planning-to-continue-antarctic-whale-hunt-sea-shepherd/5386550

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

It should have been out of money years ago. It was supported with the donations for other countries, the money was to be given to the tsunami victims.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Government plans to resume ‘research whaling’ in 2015 http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2014/04/13/national/government-plans-to-resume-research-whaling-in-2015/#.U0qIkvmSzfc

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Government should be given Whale meat importing License to private firm and import from Scandinavia countries.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

gaiatsu (roughly pronounced gah-ee-aht-soo)

OMG I just spilled my midnight coffee. Where do you get this stuff from? You can't make this stuff up!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

I don't see how having lost the ICJ case is supposed to have saved Japan any face. The face saver would be to put together a revised research program, and prove that the government's aims of research to provide a useful basis for commercial catch quotas are genuine.

In the first place, I don't any further research is really required. The IWC knows that there are more than 500K minke whales. Any reasonable person could conclude that 500K is enough for some size of commercial catch quota. Just set a commercial catch quota, and see if the Japanese market has the demand to fill it or not.

Dispute resolved, right there.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

It saves face because it allows them to cancel the program (good for the people who want the program shut down) while not having to make the decision to shut down the program, which would have alienated the right wingers. Win-win.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

@fxgai they could have said well we cant resume whaling because one of the highest courts in the world has said that its not scienific. now they will continued the so called research with a reduced quota (ICJ said 1000 whales was too much for reseach) but any reduced quota will just make whaling even more expensive and cause greater losses. at the taxpayers expense. but hey where talking about the J Gov here and as history as shown us they will save face at any cost. illogical or not. I actually feel sympathy for the J people who are being dragged down by a group of recalcitrant illogical xenophobic geriatric bureaucrats.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Strangerland, wtfjapan,

The ruling was that (albeit with 4 dissenting votes), while describing JARPA II broadly as scientific, it was not "for purposes of scientific research" in terms of the size of the sample sizes.

The ICJ decision recognized that JARPA II's aims required "lethal" research, and also allows Japan to formulate a new research plan.

So if the government opted NOT to do so, that would still alienate the "right wingers", no?

any reduced quota will just make whaling even more expensive and cause greater losses.

I don't think anyone really thinks it's done as a money making venture though. The prior JARPA program got by with 400 minke whales, that might be a starting point for a new program.

But as I said, I don't see why the IWC is forcing Japan to do research anyway. Just have some commercial quotas and that's it.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

yes Japn is just keeping the research BS going until when they finally decide to go and do it commercially. only problem by that time there will be very few people in japan who will actually eat that crap. so unless they plan on making dogfood out of it. its all pride and not wanting to lose face.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The "face" thing goes both ways to mine eyes.

For as long as I can remember we've had talk about whales being endangered, which we now know those minke whales obviously aren't. So why do we even have an issue here? I doubt those who have demanded that whales be protected despite not being endangered would be happy to suffer the indignity of admitting they were wrong by accepting any whaling now.

In that sense, if Japan just quit this IWC gig and started catching whales on an independent but sustainable basis, both sides could stick to their existing positions, and then whether whaling continues or not just comes down to the demand for whale meat (which in any case isn't all that large, but not "zero" either).

So those wanting whaling to stop have got it wrong if they think Japan is just going to suck it. This is a matter of food, which is always touchy with the Japanese. So IMO they should stop giving Japan reasons to want to continue whaling (e.g. "gaiatsu", and the commercial whaling moratorium). But I don't think they are willing to take the ostensible loss of face themselves, even if it might actually further their ultimate aims.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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