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22 Comments
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Michael Machida
Japanese eat whales, no?
Moonraker
Nooooo! This is so wrong.
GuruMick
Imprisoning creatures that roam thousands of kilometres , whether land dwelling or sea creatures is morally repugnant.
Japanese zoos are the saddest thing in this country.
Gene Hennigh
The US also keeps these whales and other aquatic animals. It's really brainless to bash Japan for it.
I'd love to go to this restaurant. Talk about atmosphere. The US has the captive animals but none of the originality of this place.
Moonraker
Pure whataboutery. It's wrong wherever it is. And this is Japan Today.
wallace
I am not too fond of those aquariums with large mammals wherever they are.
bass4funk
I would never go.
Abe234
Seriously? How big is that tank? looks like torture to me. I could imagine the horror, outcry if we did the same to kawaiiiiiiiii dogs and cats at those horrible cafes.
robert maes
It shows again the selfishness of people in Japan and the inability to care for the well-being of other creatures. Animals in Japan serve only the pleasure of Japanese and are abused at any opportunity.
BakabonPapa
These creatures should not be confined like this.
Samit Basu
Let's just hope diners are eating tuna, not whale meat....
deanzaZZR
Set them free.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I don't get feeling sorry for orcas. They may be cute but they are also vicious.
https://www.quora.com/Why-are-orcas-so-vicious-the-way-they-gang-up-on-a-poor-creature-a-juvenile-whale-or-a-seal
It's sort of like our feelings about chimpanzees, our closest relatives. Another vicious animal.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Not on private property for profit.
Right, removing all educational info and putting up some tables for dining is great because it is "original".
TaiwanIsNotChina
Oh I didn't realize it was still at an aquarium, my mistake. Not having any educational material is still ridiculous, though.
Moonraker
It's gratifying to see that there are so many people opposed to this obscenity. Thanks.
Jason'sWAY
It would have been wise for Japan Today not to use such an image, as it was evident that it would cause a significant number of negative comments. All cultures have strong views about many different things, and whales are especially one of them.
North America
SeaWorld holds more orcas than any other marine park. Tilikum, whose story was told in the movie BLACKFISH, was held at SeaWorld Orlando, Florida.
Japan
There are currently three Japanese facilities; Kamogawa, Nagoya and Kobe Suma SeaWorld (not yet open to the public) keeping a total of seven orcas. One of them was wild-caught.
Moonraker
Is it just a "cultural" thing though? Hell, in that case, there is no morality of any kind because we can always say, "But in North Korea..." or find places or times where obnoxious behaviours are/were fine and excuse anything. Transcending mere "culture" and nationalistic ideologies seems to be a better goal. That is what religion, socialism/communism and liberalism are supposed to do. As someone who tries to have compassion and sympathy for sentient beings (which is also what Buddhists claim), keeping these intelligent, social whales cooped up while people can gawk at them in a glorified cafeteria seems as wrong as keeping other humans in a tank for the same purpose. The evidence shows they don't adapt well to their captivity either. Those who seem to support it have no basis that they seem able to articulate (except one who seems to believe it creates a great atmosphere for the cafeteria diners).