Japan Remains Firm On Whaling

Despite increasing pressure worldwide, Japanese officials said Thursday they have no intention of ending their yearly research whale kills and instead hope to expand them.

Crowds of Japanese supporting the resumption of commercial whaling marched through Tokyo Thursday as lawmakers munched on whale meat to tout Japan's view that eating the delicacy is a cherished cultural tradition.

Japan, which is now hosting the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, has come under harsh criticism from the United States, Australia and other countries for its research whaling program.

Japan, along with fellow whaler Norway, agrees with protecting endangered species but argues that others, such as the minke whale, are in no danger of dying out and that hunting within limits should be allowed.

Tokyo also maintains that eating whale, regarded as a gourmet delicacy, is an important part of its cultural heritage despite protests from environmentalists focused on protecting endangered species and preventing the slaughter of the intelligent mammals.

"Anti-whaling groups say it's barbaric to eat whale," ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Shunichi Suzuki told the gathering. "Actually, telling other countries what they can eat is cultural imperialism."

Hundreds of whales are killed each year under the program. Opponents have long claimed it is little more than a pretext for keeping at least some of Japan's whaling industry alive despite an international moratorium on commercial whaling in effect since 1986.

Recently, however, the debate has shifted toward whether it is necessary to kill the whales for research, or whether the mammals could be studied without resorting to lethal methods.

The issue has already been raised at the IWC conference, which is being held through May 24 in the southern Japan port of Shimonoseki, the home port of Japan's research whaling fleet.

"We need to continue both research from sightings and from hunts," said Keiichi Nakajima, head of Japan's IWC delegation. "We need to do this regardless of what opponents say."

Carrying balloons and banners reading: "Resume Whaling! Fight on, Japan," a crowd that organizers said numbered some 600, including some women in traditional kimonos, marched through streets near Tokyo's government district Thursday.

"We'll eat whale! We'll eat whale!" some shouted defiantly as they walked behind a giant black whale balloon.

Japanese officials say lethal research is needed because whales must be dissected to determine age, fertility and feeding patterns. They also contend that studies indicate minke and Bryde's whales are harming Japan's fishing industry because of their large consumption of anchovies.

As expected, Japan is pushing hard in Shimonoseki for the whaling ban to be lifted, and to further promote their cause several hundred whaling supporters rallied in Tokyo on Thursday. A VIP banquet in which lawmakers and whaling advocates dined on whale dishes was also held in Tokyo.

Officials admit, however, that they probably do not have the three-quarters majority needed to end the commercial ban.

The IWC conference, which opened on April 25, has been hard on the host in other ways as well.

The United States and 14 other anti-whaling nations on Thursday condemned Japan's plans to double its research catch in the northwest Pacific and start harvesting a species it hasn't hunted in more than two decades.

Japan announced in February it will add sei whales to its annual whale harvest for the first time in 26 years. Its yearly catch in the northwest Pacific will rise to 260 whales — 150 Minke, 50 Bryde's, 10 sperm whales and 50 sei whales.

That compares to the 246 whales Japan caught in the waters over the past two years. Japan also hunts around 400 minke annually in the Antarctic.

On Thursday, Japanese officials briefing reporters on the IWC conference defended the plan, saying the populations of the targeted species have recovered sufficiently to sustain such a hunt.

The officials, briefing on condition they not be named, said Japan will also again ask for the IWC to allow a catch of 50 whales along the Japanese coast, a request that has been repeatedly denied in the past.