NihonRyu comments

@SmithinJapan

Can you show me the link to the hordes of whale meat that is rotting in freezers? Also the 90% of Japanese that has never eaten whale? Please furnish proof from a reliable non anti whaling source preferably Japanese. Almost every Japanese and many foreigners in japan that I know have tried it and many like it. Is it as easily available and economical as chicken, pork, beef? No, but neither is horse which is eaten by many Japanese but not regularly as it is more scarce just as whale is. Whale is not seen here as a cheap food that is given to pets.!? Are you kidding? I can see the guts and non-choice cuts of whale being used in pet food perhaps but certainly not main good portions that can be seen provided by any number of izakayas and specialty restaurants across Japan.

@ThomasAnderson Do you think Japan and the whale species would be better off with Japan leaving the IWC? It is a whaling commission isn't it? What's the purpose of a whaling commission that has no purpose to support scientific based sustainable whaling to protect future whale stocks? Ridiculous isn't it? That is probably why Norway and Iceland left the IWC. Lets not forget that it was mostly western cultures practice of non-sustainable whaling for hundreds of years discarding the meat that led to whale population decline in the first place. We Japanese eat and use almost all of the whale's valuable gift to us thus the many shrines dedicated to whales all around traditional Japanese whaling towns.

@Thomas Anderson

Nobody is forcing whale meat on anybody but we Japanese certainly don't like to be forced into not eating whale meat for none other reason than you or other anti-whaling people feel its morally wrong and try to bully your perspectives. Many, most Japanese feel the same way.

@Zichi

If we Japanese no longer have interest in eating whale as you say just leave it alone and don't bother anyone about it and see where it leads. I bet we will continue eating whale for many generations forward. Just as we will continue to eat horse, raw fish, etc. Your argument that we don't have the culture to whale is silly, with modern tools and equipment, mankind including indigenous people's adapt with new technology just as the Native Americans utilized and adapted to the horses brought in by the Spaniards to hunt buffalo and wage war, do you think we Japanese don't have the right to advance our own hunting, fishing, farming practices culture with the advent of new technologies and know how regardless if it was founded on by western cultures? What's wrong with sustainable harvest of the ocean's creatures? Japan is 90% mountainous, the rest are cities, we don't have vast pastoral lands that many western countries have to raise livestock, we must utilize the ocean in proficient and sustainable ways.

At the end of the day, please use logic and sound reasoning not just an emotional based diatribe as to why Japan needs to succumb to anti-whaling groups wish to end all manners of hunting whales, dolphins. There is nothing to be ashamed of being Japanese and proud to harvest and eat whale.

@MasterBape Nihonryu,

"Most Japanese love dolphins and whales for the majestic creatures they are but also enjoy eating them on occasion as they are considered tasty to many of us and if scientifically sustainable should not be interfered by foreign anti-whaling coalition and organizations just because they are against it from their cultural perspective"

And this is the "them versus us" which is part of the problem.

A few quick question for you:

You support whaling, so do you agree with the amount of tax and also large amount of Tohoku funds spent on whaling? Yes, I do. My friends from Tohoku have relatives that depend on whaling and the resumption of it for their livelihoods. how often do you eat whale meat? About once a week and when SeaShepard are acting up us local surfer guys and gals do a whale eating party on purpose to show our support for the whaler's cause and an excuse to eat delicious whale sashimi!

do you believe both Sea Shepherd and whalers use aggressive tactics? Or the whalers are the victims? The whalers are minding their business and operating in a responsible and legal fashion. The whaling is done in international waters on an abundant whale species so yes SeaShepard are usin aggressive tactics and can go to hell as far as I am concerned!

I am a Japanese national and avid surfer and speak on behalf of most of my friends and Japanese people I know that enjoy the Ocean and the marine creatures we see and encounter in the waters. Many of us enjoy eating whale as a special delicacy and some even dolphins although I personally prefer whale over dolphin due to the gaminess of dolphin meat. Most Japanese love dolphins and whales for the majestic creatures they are but also enjoy eating them on occasion as they are considered tasty to many of us and if scientifically sustainable should not be interfered by foreign anti-whaling coalition and organizations just because they are against it from their cultural perspective. I love watching dolphins and whales breach close to me while I surf and have even played with some that were friendly but still, it wouldn't stop me from eating them once in a while, I don't want to see them go extinct either but sustainable whaling of the Minke whale species is something myself and a whole lot of normal active Japanese people would support whole heatedly.

DavidatTokyo: Very well said! Couldn't agree with you more.

Regulated sustainable whaling is always better. I think it is a fair comprimise to "no whaling at all what so ever just because I disdain the thought of killing cuddly whales."

Imagine a scenario where China, Japan, Korea all started indescrimanate unsustainable whaling in international waters..!!! Yeah, that is what I thought... You anti-whaling extremists would really have a handful if the Chinese had a tradition of eating whale. lol..!!! Let's hope the Chinese masses don't develop the taste of eating whale like they have with Maguro sashimi and sushi.. The whales would be in big trouble... lol..

Japan must never, ever give in to an idealogical difference regarding the whaling issue as long as it is sustainable and legal. The whaling ships of Japan are in internationally recognized waters, not in Australia's territorial waters. Partaking in some of nature's abundance and bounty be it whales, fish, etc.. need to be managed collectively but having an idealogical/emotional problem for harvesting a certain species at a detriment to another is something that should not be tolerated especially if it condones violence as a means to accomplish it.

I love whale meat!! Whale meat is tasy and very nutritious, I think we Japanese should do a better job introducing our unique whale eating culture to the entire world. Every non-Japanese friend of mine who have tried it with me not knowing what it was liked it (Chinese, Korean, American, Austrailian, French, British, etc.,) Especially the tasty fluke area, that is the best part!!! I do admit some where non too happy that I tricked them lol..!!! But most after tasting it polish it off anyway. Some of the granola types sure got mad though!!! lol... Meat is meat... Most Japanese support sustainable whaling, we sure wouldn't want to hunt them into extinction, we are actually quite the environmentailist traditionally speaking. If there are a million+ Minke whales out in the Antarctic, I don't see what the fuss is. It's not like we are killing indescrimanately every whale species even the endangered ones. Actually, I read somewhere that the overpopulation of Minke whales maybe causing other more rare species of whales to decline as they compete for prey. If that is the case, I don't see why culling a few thousand out of a million that could be enjoyed on our dinner tables is such a sin especially in the light that it may help save other more endangered whale species. Whaling! Whaling! Whaling! Yeah, love whale meat!!!! lol....

@Zichi: Perhaps the stockpile is for emergency food rations just as there are supposedly stockpiles of coal stored within Tokyo bay in the event of emergencies. I don't know, but whale meat is regularly sold out in my supermarket and is still rather expensive compared to Tuna and other sashimi, same goes for most sushi places that carry whale. Japan carries one of the greatest risk for food dependancy as we import almost everything. Since we cannot turn our mountainous terrain into large grazing lands or farms the sea is one of our greatest benefactors thus our mainly traditional Seafood diet. I would love to replace imported Aust Pork and beef with tasty and healthy whale from the Antarctic. Unfortunately, the cost of whale meat is much higher than imported meat. Perhaps with fullscale resumed (sustainable) commercial whaling, we can begin to enjoy more often and choose whale over imported beef, pork, etc..

@BlueWitch: Many people including 外国人　love whale sashimi which I suppose is highly subjective. I also like shiokara, so what?? Personally, I support sustainable legally sancitioned whaling as I like to eat whale and hope future generations in Japan will continue to be able to as well. Contrary to your opinion, many Japanese also feel the same as me..and certainly despise the actions of SS and Australia and NZ's ethnocentric and emotional opinions on this matter. As Ossan says there is a legal framework and Japan is not doing anything illegal in anyone's territorial waters. Some whale species are overabundant and I don't see any reason why we Japanese who eat whale cannot harvest a sustainable, healthy, not to mention tasty food supply just because others feel it to apprehensible to them.

I hope they have a successful hunt and bring the Maritime SDF ships with them to defend against SS and their terrorists. Would love to see the SS ships try to menace an armed escort ship. One thing I can say about the Russians, they would sink the SS clowns if they tried to harrass their whaling ships. I love my whale sashimi!!! lol

I hope Japan does not bow down to China's arrogance as they did last year and actually protect our national interest and our integrity. I would like to see the true test of our U.S. alliance once things get ugly between Japan and China. Why is that both China and Korea do not want to settle our territorial dispute properly in International Court?! Because they would lose...lol..

Well on the flip side how many 2nd and 3rd generation Japanese, Koreans, or Chinese born and raised in America still wish or have their citizenship from their mother country? None or very few...

What on earth would a 2nd or 3rd generation Korean or Chinese born and raised in Japan only speaking Japanese want or need to retain a S.Korea, N.Korean, Taiwanese passport? For what purpose does it serve besides a personal agenda? I know of and have many Zainichi Korean friends that are now 2nd generation Japanese passport carrying citizens and they are proud Japanese and don't speak Korean or even give one shit about either Koreas. They know the advantage of being Japanese and making a comfortable successful living here being able to travel the world without restrictions as a Japanese national and actively participate in local and national elections. There are many like this and they themselves cannot understand the stubborn rhetoric of their counterparts with a personal or political agenda that is being forced upon them by overbearing parents, grandparents, etc.. with identity and inferiority complexes. There is a flip side to this and all can become Japanese and it is not very hard, I also know of an Indian national that recently became Japanese and is quite happy with the decision as replicating the life and success he has here was due to the unique opportunity that Japan provides for many foreigners and going back to India at this point in his life would be unimaginable to him and his family.

This is the rules of Japan. Just abide by them and work with the system, many do and have no issues and thrive. If you hate to have to tell your relatives that you have become Japanese like it is some kind of turncoat that it is a personal issue that needs to addressed. If you want to vote in Japan and make a difference, do the needful and become proud Japanese.. Stop complaining about not being able to retain your original citizenship. When dual citizenship is truly realized then we can cross that bridge when it comes.

Noirgaijin: If Japan were to begin breeding Whales or dolphins soley for consumption, I can imagine the uproar by the Aussies. lol... So are you suggesting that we set-up huge pens in the open waters off our coast and breed dolphins and whales just for consumption? Is that really more humane than taking small populations from sustainable populations in the wild?

The Antarctic Ocean is not Australia's territorial waters and the Japanese are hunting Minke whale which by all means is a very large and sustainable population.

Use shaming tactics for those caught for minor offenses to perform community service such as picking-up litter, etc. around various neighborhoods around the base. They should wear a sign around their necks stating they are repenting for their trangressions against the locals. Serious crimes need to be dealt with so they have double jeapardy, time in Japanese prison as well as the brig when they come out. I guarantee crimes committed by the military and their families will go down significantly.

Again, the point being many Japanese may not have personal relationships with foreigners here so do not have a reference point to go by of what a "Normal well behaved Gaijin is like let's say" So when a spectacle is made by a disruptive Gaijin in a public place it could potentially leave a very negative and unfair impression which is what this article is about.

To Sarcasm 123: Unfortunately, there is far more Trash percentage in the Western populations than in Japan. I do agree that comparing normal population of the West to Japan is fairly equal in that sense. C'mon: Go to your average mall or movie theatre in the U.S. and compare the experience of that to say going to LaLa Port or Odaiba or the cineplex anywhere in Japan. You will more likely find bad mannered people of all colors black, white, hispanic, asian in the U.S. then you would for the most parts anywhere in Japan. That is my point. When normal Japanese people see bad mannered Japanese we typically think they were not brought up properly or have mental illness of some sorts. However, if foreigner is misbehaving it is unfairly viewed by many Japanese that is is Shoganai they are Gaijin and that is the point of Melissa's article.

Some of the comments posted by foreigners here is unbelievable. I have lived in the states for many years and you cannot compare in general the behavior of your average Japanese v.s. low class trash in some Western countries. (yes there is many of them all over...) Of course we have our fair share of "trash" in Japan and as some noted Kansai seems to have greater share than most parts of Japan but really can you really say that it is just as common as in the U.S.? Give me a break. Most Westerners perspective of Japanese in their country is that they are law abiding and respectful of the culture that they are guests at. Unfortuantely, many "bad apples" foreigners here in Japan leave a negative impression unfairly to the rest of the Gaijin population. What Melissa is conveying is that foreigners should be extra mindful as to not label the rest of Gaijin community as being disruptive and bad mannered as there are relatively few foreigners here in Japan and making a bad first impression to Japanese is quite a reality. (Don't make this out to be a racist issue which it clearly is not.)

This whole fuss and documentary on Taiji hunts is so unneccessary. The majority of Japanese people have either never had dolphin or eat it only occassinally when its available and typically only folks that have traditionally eaten it in coastal fishing areas. I am sure the average life span and health of a Taiji native is better than that of the U.S. average so concern for their health is really secondary for production of this film. They really want to stop the traditional slaughter of dolphins for consumption and shed this in a negative light as possible. Perhaps viewing the slaughter of dolphins for consumption purposes is certainly not enjoyable but so is any other life form that is slaughtered for food.

The thing that strikes me as so unfair and biased is that it was mostly the Western nations that caused the great decline of modern day marine mammals hunting them solely for oil. Although, personally I like dolphins and don't enjoy the taste of their meat I don't have the right to tell others who occassionally partake in dolphin as long as its done in a sustainable manner that doesn't threaten the survival of the species. The mercury in the dolphin meat is another thing but that really is up to Japan and the people who want to eat it to thoroughly investigate the risks.

This so called "Love Letter to Japan" is demeaning and undignified to our people and culture. What a few fishermen do in our coastal waters in their traditional ways is our business and most Westerners would agree they would not want others to forcibly place their religious or cultural values on them in their own country.

@Ah so: I've read Bird's book as well and her travels were from Edo to Niigata and then up the interior of Japan towards Hokkaido. You forget to conveniently mention the diversity of what people ate and their lifestyles depending on region which is also mentioned in her book. I can assure you if she had traveled up the Pacific coast of Japan such as where I live in Chiba she would have encountered a much different lifestyle and foods such as abundant seafood than the remote mountain villages she encountered in the interior of Japan with little or no access to the sea. Taiji style hunting of dolphins was also done in Chiba for thousands of years according to a museum I visited and to this day you can purchase dolphin from select fish markets on the Sotobo of Chiba. However, personally I prefer whale and dolphin is considered an inferior quality meat compared to whale and a bit gamier tasting according to whale lovers.

I think this anti-protest of Australia's stance is great. Good for Japan and it's about time. If this was organized on a weekend, I would definately join them.

The supporters of seashepard on this site continue to ignore the facts. They want to bully us into never eating whale ever no matter if it was sustainably hunted or if we could somehow farm them. It is an emotional issue for them but it is also an emotional issue for us and I don't think we care what the Australians or Kiwis bullied and conqured their indigenous people into virtual irrelevancy and submission to lose their heritage but they will not threaten ours. We Japanese will not be intimidated by these modern day imperialists such as the SeaShepard nor their supporters. We know we are in the right and will not feel guilty about nationally supporting our whaling activities there. Had whale sashimi last night and had my gaijin friends from Australia and the U.S. try it just once and they thought it was indeed surprisingly very good. They seem to now have a different perspective on the issue although we have our differences they did agree the wrongness in trying to force someones cultural values on another over food is wrong especially if it is not endangering a species extinction which I believe is the central and most important issue at hand.

Rudd is an idiot.. He has no business telling us we can't have sustainable whaling in international waters. I really hope Japan leaves the IWC permanently and the crybabying by the humaniacs backfire and we begin to take several thousand Minkes annually instead. lol.. What's the point of the IWC and it's charter? I would think sustainable whaling of certain species backed by scientific study for the purpose of consumption is well within the original purpose of the organization???

I am actually quite relieved that we don't have too many Muslims here in Japan yet so I don't see a clash here anytime soon and hope Japan thinks about putting some restrictions on the number of new Muslim immigrants as large numbers of them could potentially affect our society as it has in some European nations. I just don't think Islam is very compatible with Japanese society and work environment.

My experience hiring muslims here in Tokyo were that they asked for too many special favors for e.g. setting up a special prayer room in the office just for them to pray every day and permission to go off to mosque in the middle of the work day every Friday for a few hours, creating eating decisions difficult at a group setting for people due to food not being halal, pork, etc.. looking uncomfortable around the tradional afterwork kampai beers with other coworkers, etc..

I guess the issue is many seem to have a difficult time seperating their religious needs/practices with their work environment and tend to ask their employer to amend to their religious needs compared to practicing their religion on their personal time on the weekend or after normal working hours, etc.

All in all I probably would opt to hire a non-muslim v.s. a muslim if all other qualifications being equal as it seems they were harder to integrate successfully with either the Japanese or multi-national gaijin teams due to their strict adherence to religious practices.

I am sure that is not true of all Muslims but many that I have met and interviewed for positions seemed to ask for special treatment to accomadate their religion as a basis for employment.

Some additional thoughts: I heard in the U.S. some Muslim Walmart employees working at the check-out would refuse to handle/scan pork or alcohol and created some issues. I believe this was just a few handful of cases but was thinking if the nurses from Indonesia/Malaysia that will be coming to Japan to help off-set the lack of nurses here begin to refuse helping old oji-sans and oba-sans to eat their Charsiu ramen as it contains pork or refuse to help them sip sake or something this would create a serious problem for us here as they would not be able to do their job adequately or as expected.

Many thought this guy had escaped to Korea under a false identity given his Korean roots and relatives there. Glad he is finally caught and brought to justice.

DavidatTokyo: Your points are very well said!! Thank you!

DickMorris: Fox News, Bill Oreilly? You gotta be kidding, we know where you stand. lol.. Btw- Japan rarely sends shoddy goods to the U.S. If yout hate Japan so much why are you even looking at this forum?

Please respect people's different cultures and view points, again this is about sustainable commercial whaling. I am pretty sure we Japanese respect American Citizen's right to bear arms and other cultural differences that might seem unfathomable to some Japanese. There are other more pressing world issues that need to be solved in the world today than to fuss over hunting a few thousand whales out of a population of over a million. Think about it: There are millions of people throughout the world that are dying from preventable diseases, poverty, war, etc.. How is one whale's life that can feed thousands of people have more visibility and more top of mind than the human suffering that is occurring today? It is politically motivated and in my opinion we Japanese should never ever succum to the kind of bullying over practicing our own culture especially if it is not endangering any species. Get over it! There are many other pressing things in the world to have an outcry about...

In fact, I hope someone institutes a eat whale once a week campaign in Japan to instill our solidarity on this issue and provide more visibility and drive demand. Ultimately, I think we Japanese need to stand together on key issues such as this and show that we aren't going to get bullied. My family and friends will be trying to eat whale atleast a few times a week going forward even though it's pricy as a political statement and have talked to my local supermarket to keep bringing more of it in. I encourage others to do the same and try to eat whale a bit more ofen if you can.

Toxin- There is plenty of information on Japan's whale eating culture please read my earlier posts and see some of the links I provided. Please check out the excellent production by NHK that was done this year. The vast majority of this information is however only in Japanese. Culture is not static and is constantly evolving, there may be periods and areas that ate more or less whale than others in Japan prior to transportation, refrigeration and proximity to the sea, etc. The point is does 100% of the whole country need to have eaten whale for it to be part of our unique culture?

Our whale eating culture is real and is our own business and anti-whaling folks should not dismiss it like it doesn't matter. This is the same mentality that almost wiped out the entire indigenous population and culture in Australia and NewZealand. I don't see how taking 1000+ whales out of a population of a million+ in the middle of the ocean far from any international boundary should rake up this kind of emotional racket from those countries who so conveniently decided that whaling was inhumane all of sudden when they were the ones most responsible for their demise earlier this century. I think Japan's research is to validate the sustainablilty and resumption to properly managed commercial whaling. That's what it is and they should be upfront about it. It's time the IWC comes to terms that their organization to have any validity needs to look at both sides of the issue or what is the purpose of its existence? If there is no view to look at whales as a manageable resource that can be exploited in an optimal way without endangering their population, what's the point?

This is the same fight that many Native Americans and Alaskans had about their traditional right to whale. Thank god, Americans understand their plight as indigenous people who were nearly stamped out by the whiteman's expansion in the americas and this right for them to hunt as they used to is still honored. The U.S. coast guard actually protect the Makah hunts from the SeaShepard like terrorists trying to halt their hunts. (Way to go!) I hope the new Japanese government has enough balls to send the JSDF to escort the Japanese whaling fleet as well and protect them from the SeaShepard's antics. It's time to get serious and defend our rights and cultural interests from these loonies! These days we just give in and fold on almost any international issue or dispute. Today's persisitent culture of passive impotence to the West or our Asian neighbors have not gotten us anywhere. It's time we Japanese begin to realize this and demand more from our leaders and realize a stronger mature Japan that can be on a more equal footing on international issues.

Well it seems people have very set opinions on this subject. Certainly violating another country's territorial rights to exploit a resource is wrong. However, arbitrarily claiming an entire ocean area in the southern hemisphere as an exclusive whale santuary that resides in agreed upon international waters is another. I believe the Japanese should not target vulnerable whale species nor those species that could directly impact other nation's vital ecotourism. However, the facts seem to support that the Minke whale population is huge and taking a few thousand would have little impact on the population. There are numerous fishing ships operated by other countries just outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone, when does Japan make a stink about that? It's not like Japan is claiming a huge area in the North pacific as an exclusive fish sanctuary are they now?

I too have discussed this issue with many Japanese and what many Japanese tell foreigners (tatemae) especially those that harbor strong anti-whaling feelings v.s. what we discuss amongst ourselves (honne) is very different. I assure you that most Japanese will support a pro-whaling stance as long as it is sustainable and does not endanger these magnificent animals. For my part I try to encourage all my gaijin and Japanese friends to try it if they have not already and help educate them on what the real issue at hand. In either case, whale is tasty and good for you. http://luna.pos.to/whale/jwa_v8_suzu.html I sincerely hope Japan does not give in to the bullying and unreasonable tantrams of the anti-whaling nations and continue to flourish a new generation of whale eating culture. We should be open and proud of our whale eating heritage. I see some of the pathetic school lunches that Japanese kids are served now a days, I sure hope whale is back on the menu to foster a strong and able bodied generation. Again, I only support my stance if whaling is sustainable and only to particular species as we should never go back to the time when many of our great whale species were nearly extinct. With modern research and scientific process, I believe commercial whaling can be sustainable for those counrties that come from a whale eating culture.

Potsu- You are wrong: http://luna.pos.to/whale/jwa_trad.html The Japanese had a substantial whale eating culture that cannot be denied. Also, as stated earlier there is a recent well made NHK series documenting Japan's whale culture. If you can understand Japanese it would be good to view this and make your own judgements after having all the facts. Your facts that Japan had no substantial whale culture come straight from SeaShepard's site and is untrue. Try again.. I would think Japanese experts would know best about our own culture given the material of records and research are mostly Japanese.