Campaigners rally in Tokyo against dolphin hunting

A 24 person protest is international news?

Much of an agenda there, AFP?

Title should read. "FAILED PROTEST ATTRACTS 2 DOZEN PEOPLE"

I bet there were more police than protesters.

Non news.

Partisan news!

Yes, JT's agenda is to report on news that would interest JT readers. It's part of a news story about the Taiji dolphin hunt that is very popular on Japan Today and it is important to see that there is open support for banning the hunt by Japanese so I would say an excellent choice of story.

The fact that two dozen showed up to a protest in Japan means something since Japanese are generally unlikely to brave participation in a public demonstration shows that many more support the protest.

Japanese right-wingers replied to them, "Get out of Japan".

24 people equals background noise in japan and "mostly Japanese " means more than half so that's not even 24 people! I could protest "land rights for gay whales" and get 24 supporters in japan!

Go on then.

It doesn't matter that it tarnishes Japan's reputation. Taiji people's livelyhood and happyness is more important. Did you talk to the local people, Ikeda san?

The only people who actually care about dolphin hunting are the idiot right-wingers. They're supposedly "defending" their "traditional culture". I don't think they actually understand what the hell they're doing other than that the fact that they're peeved off by the fact that the devil foreigners are daring to criticize their holy culture.

Maybe there needs to be more protests from the Japanese themselves, so the idiot right-wingers can no longer use the "racism" or "culture" excuse.

zichi When did I critisize their right to protest and demonstrate? I simply said Japan's reputation is not important. Japan's reputation is already turnished anyway thanks to the many year efforts of anti-Japan movements.

I'm afraid that most of you don't know the true feelings of Japanese people. After spending a whole week interviewing Japanese people about this issue, about 40 people in total of various age and gender, I could not find anyone who would support the effort to stop whaling or dolphin hunting. Reactions were mixed from little concern to strongly supporting the dolphin hunt. With the vast majority strongly supporting the Hunt.

Sorry guys but this group of 24 are extremists like the majority of people reporting on the issue.

X

I'm afraid that most of you don't know the true feelings of Japanese people. After spending a whole week interviewing Japanese people about this issue, about 40 people in total of various age and gender, I could not find anyone who would support the effort to stop whaling or dolphin hunting. Reactions were mixed from little concern to strongly supporting the dolphin hunt. With the vast majority strongly supporting the Hunt.

Well first of all, I'm sure that most Japanese people don't even know exactly what dolphin or whale hunting is, or how exactly it is conducted. Would they be shocked if they knew how shocking it actually was? Maybe yes, maybe no. There has never been any debate or discussions of any kind. I'm sure, that they don't know how they're killed.

Second, many Japanese people tend to give a reactionary, defensive response whenever their own country has been criticized from the outside - as if it was themselves that were being personally criticized. They tend to take it personally when their own country has been criticized.

Wow! They could find a whole two dozen to protest! That's so impressive! That'll show them fishermen!

Teacher X, when you polled these 40 people did you explain how the dolphins were coralled into the cove, which was then blocked off... then the dolphins have divers in with them, tying rope around their tails to stop them trashing about, and guiding towards the men in boats, who than ram effing great poles into their spinal cords in order to kill them... supposedly without bloodying the water... which failed. BBC footage shows at least one dolphin trashing with blood coming from it's mouth.

Did you explain that to them? Did you show them the pictures? The videos? Or did you just ask if they were in favour or against dolphin hunting?

These 24 people may be a small number, but it shows that there IS some anti-hunting sentiment in Japan. Protests always start small.

But reality is that it is extremely rare to find Japanese people who wish to eat dolphins. The real problem is that hunt is driven by demand for live dolphins among aquariums to put on dolphin shows she said.

Sounds they found /dolphin eating never has been Japanese food culture. They don;t want live dolphin shows.

Japanese needs to do something like this more to beat the old tradition out of the country. Keeping the old traditions just isolates the country from the rest of the globe.

The REAL reason the reputation of Japan dwindled is because whatever problems there are, they are always brushed aside for some reasons and some Japanese politicians are not so careful with words. They know better than anyone they have two cranky neighbouring countries that fly off the handle too easy. They really should know that by now.

Thank you brave Japanese protesters! Please continue to educate the Japanese people on the extreme cruelty that is happening in your country. Do not give up. Change can start with as little as one person wanting to make a difference. The world is behind you.

TeacherX:

" This is the equivalent to blue sheets. "

No, it is not. The stabbing spree under the blue sheets is not to be seen by anyone except the Taiji "fishermen" and is regulated by nobody except... the Taiji "fishermen".

You can stop those invalid comparisons already.

I think Yakayama Prefecture should create cowboy towns there to promote Wakayama Beef. Encourage Dolphin hunters to become Cow hunters, After all, Kobe Beef has been very profittable. Nobody has been protesting Beef eating. Dolphin eating was not Japanese culture. When it began? 1969? I'd bet a majority of Japanese never ate Dolphin meat.

Some two dozen campaigners, mostly Japanese, congregated in front of the Fisheries Agency with banners and pictures, urging the government to ban dolphin catching.

Hahahaha. 24 protesters? That's all? I guess all thatprotestor talk about the "world" being against Japan, Japanese, dolphin catchers, and whalers doesn't translate into real numbers. It's all protestors hype. Yawn.

Most of the world doesn't care about eating whlaes or dolphins. It's still just a tiny minority of protesters trying to force others to do the protestors bidding. Yawn.

Good for the Japanese protesters. This dolphin slaughter and capture of dolphins for stupid entertainment shows is cruel and barbaric. The fishermen should be supported to have whale watching and other non-lethal work. Haven't we done enough as a human species to destroy life on this planet?

arrestpaul

Hahahaha. 24 protesters? That's all? I guess all thatprotestor talk about the "world" being against Japan, Japanese, dolphin catchers, and whalers doesn't translate into real numbers. It's all protestors hype. Yawn. Most of the world doesn't care about eating whlaes or dolphins. It's still just a tiny minority of protesters trying to force others to do the protestors bidding. Yawn.

Sigh. Yet another person only concerned about whether or not Japan is criticized or rather than whether dolphin killing is cruel and barbaric or not.

Tell me, why are you so afraid of criticism and desperate to evade it at all cost?

@Eiji Takano ... Second, many Japanese people tend to give a reactionary, defensive response whenever their own country has been criticized from the outside - as if it was themselves that were being personally criticized. They tend to take it personally when their own country has been criticized.

You are right on topic here ... except rather than saying "as if" I would say that criticism actually DOES range in nature from "objective" to "sensationalist and personal". An objective criticism must include respect for the fisherman as human beings who are not being gratuitously cruel to the dolphins. Because this respect is clearly absent in the media frenzy, the Japanese pod instinctively responds by trying to protect their brother mammals. Such instinctive behavior is not based on intelligence but on emotions, just like the dolphins.

I could get 24 people to protest anything. ANYTHING.

This is indicative of nothing.

How about killing shinzo abe and his cabinet? The Japanese race is more endangered with them around.

If its true that many of the dolphins being captured at Taiji are being sent to aquariums, many in the USA, maybe some Americans should be protesting the live whale/dolphin shows in the US . Yet I haven't seen anywhere near 24 protesters at Sea World lately so to just shrug this Japanese protest off as small potatoes in a country usually not for protests is ignorant.

Precisely, why I don't frequent those places. Haven't been to a dolphin show in over 25 years and never will.

After watching The Cove recently, I wonder if the whales murdered in Taiji aren´t the lucky ones. The fate of the animals sent to a miserable life in dolphin shows is arguable worse. I absolutely agree that Seaworld & Co deserve protests too.

I think there was not many demo people because too cold. In Summer, they may have more. People rather watch TV and videos in home than walking around on the street?

Why would anyone want to eat dolphins? They are packed with mercury, and notoriously expensive to keep as sea creature attractions. Oh and all that in humane to animal stuff.

Thank you for protesting this awful practice. It does not matter the number of protesters what matters is the protest itself. Thank you!