Japan on whaling deal: we like the part where you give us concessions

Posted By Joshua Keating Friday, April 23, 2010 - 2:03 PM Share

The International Whaling  Commission unveiled a new proposal today that would lift the blanket ban on commercial whaling while reducing the number of whales caught each year by Japan, Iceland, and Norway and further regulating the trade .

Japan's response has essentially been, "we like that lifting the ban part":

Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu, while welcoming the endorsement of coastal whaling, said: "Regarding the total catch allowed, it is different from Japan's position. We want to continue negotiating with patience."

The U.S. lead the effort to put together the new proposal -- a painful compromise for whaling opponents -- which will be voted on at an IWC meeting in June. 

It doesn't seem like anti-whaling countries have a whole lot of leverage here. The U.S. has rejected plans to impose economic sanctions against Japan's "scientific" whale hunts in the past and it's not clear how serious Australia is  about its threats to take Japan to the International Criminal Court. Japan's best strategy seems to be to keep the IWC talking -- while recruiting more allies for its cause -- and continue the hunt in the meantime. 

OMAR TORRES/AFP/Getty Images

EXPLORE:ENVIRONMENT, JAPAN
 

MLROCAP

9:26 PM ET

April 23, 2010

ICC or ICJ

The Australian PM mentioned the International Court of Justice, not the International Criminal Court. The ICC would obviously have no jurisdiction on that matter.

 

MARKDONNERS

9:28 PM ET

April 23, 2010

Concessions are not acceptable

This is nothing more than organized poaching, similar to the illegal global trade in wildlife, rejected by New Zealand, Australia, the US and most of the Pacific island nations, who have been declaring whale sanctuaries to rid themselves of Japanese poachers. It is riddled with the earmarks of Japanese yakuza which have their tentacles in the top levels of Japan's corrupt government. These so called "concessions" are just another japanese calculated ploy to pillage the marine environment and undermine the international community. Among other deceptive practices Japan peddles its massacre of the world's whales in whale sanctuaries as "research" which is ludicrious. it's simply a commercial operation that sells mercury tainted whale to familes who have no idea of the severe health threats involved. This is just the most infamous example of Japan's corruption. The Japanese government has no conscience about spreading false propaganda and engaging in outright criminal activity to destroy the future of the oceans for its own greed. Japan's reckless destruction of the oceans extends to innumerable key species such as bluefin tuna, dolphins, and sharks

 

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1:01 AM ET

April 24, 2010

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PHILIP RADFORD - GREENPEACE

7:44 AM ET

April 25, 2010

President Obama's Response to Questioning on Whales

Great piece -- you get to the heart of it. The U.S. has balked at using political capital to follow through on President Obama's campaign promise to stop commercial whaling. I ran into the president the other day and asked about this topic. I wrote the play by play here - http://huff.to/aLgiIv

 

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12:29 AM ET

April 26, 2010

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2:43 AM ET

April 26, 2010

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NYGDAN

10:06 AM ET

April 28, 2010

"The Japanese government has

"The Japanese government has no conscience about spreading false propaganda and engaging in outright criminal activity to destroy the future of the oceans for its own greed. "

They're hunting whale species that the world agrees can be hunted, in places the world agrees they can be hunted, and in numbers that the world agrees they can be hunted. Thats a heckuva far cry from poaching. The world allows a certain number of particular species of whales to be hunted, as long as scientific information is collected. The Japanese do exactly that. They are not operating against the law, they are operating well within it.

 

STEPHENMA

9:15 AM ET

May 11, 2010

Whaling No More

There's only a few days left to make our voices heard. IWC Delegates from around the world will be joining to determine the future of the whales. A number of pro whaling nations are seeking to lift the ban and hunt openly, help save the whales !!!
http://WhalingNoMore.org

 

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