2012-01-15

Japan Times Speaks Out Against Whaling

The Japan Times today has questioned the continued practice of whaling.

Looking back over the last few years of whaling the Times discusses the fact that " last year, Japan only caught about 18 percent of its self-imposed quota of some 1,000 whales in the Antarctic Ocean. The traditional custom of eating whale meat has considerably declined. Many reports show that whale meat from whales killed last year is piling up in refrigerated warehouses. All of the facts concerning the stock of whale meat should be made public.

If whale meat were really a cheap source of daily, delicious meals, as is claimed, it would be found in every supermarket in Japan. Meat from those 170 or so whales is, in fact, rarely sold."

The Japan Times recognises that whaling did have a role in Japan's history, going on to say,

"Whale meat was surely an important part of Japan's heritage, and a major source of protein in the lean times after World War II. However, its continued consumption, for either culinary, dietary or cultural reasons, hardly seems compelling at this point.

Continuing the whale hunts means Japan will continue to pay dearly in international diplomatic costs for its right to maintain a tradition that extends far beyond the borders of the country's culture yet is no longer central to daily life here at home."

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