Whaling in Japan

Whaling in the Edo period depicted by Hokusai

Japan has a long history of whaling. However, current whaling conducted by Japan is a source of political dispute between pro-whaling countries and anti-whaling organizations.

History

The oldest written mention of whaling in Japanese records is from Kojiki, the oldest extant Japanese book, which was written in the eighth century. In this book whale meat was eaten by Emperor Jimmu. In Man'yōshū, the word "Whaling" (いさなとり) was frequently used in depicting the ocean or beaches.

Japanese whaling technique was developed and broke away from its traditional methods by the early 1900s, the Japanese whalers began turning to the West to learn modern whaling techniques. Chubei Wada organized the group hunting system (刺手組) and introduced new handheld harpoon in 1606. Kakuemon Wada, later known as Kakuemon Taiji, invented the whaling net technique called Amitori hou(網取法) and increase the safety and efficiency of whaling.

Whaling has been frequently mentioned in Japanese historical sources. [1]

• Whaling history (鯨史稿), Seijun Otsuki, 1808 [2]
• Whaling Picture Scroll (鯨絵巻), Jinemon Ikushima, 1665 [3]
• Whale Hunt Picture Scroll (捕鯨絵巻), Eikin Hangaya, 1666 [4]
• Ogawajima Keigei Wars (小川島鯨鯢合戦), Unknown, 1667, [5]

A dish of whale meat in Japan

Whales have long been a source of food, oil, and crafts' material. A famous Proverb quotes: "There's nothing to throw away from a whale except its voice."

In 1853, a US naval officer Matthew Perry sailed into Edo bay. One of the purposes was to obtain a base for whaling in the north-west Pacific Ocean.

Following the devastation of World War II, food was scarce, consequently whales, being a cheap source of protein, became a larger part of the Japanese post-war diet.

In 1982, the International Whaling Commission voted on a moratorium on commercial whaling to go into force in 1986. While Japan initially intended to oppose the moratorium, they in submission withdrew due to the threat of economic sanctions made by the United States. Japan continues whaling today under a scientific research permit.

Japan's whale consumption peaked in 1962 at 226,000 tons, then declined steadily until it fell to 15,000 tons in 1985, the year before the commercial whaling ban took place.

At an IWC meeting in 2006, a resolution calling for the eventual return of commercial whaling was passed by a majority of just one vote. Environmental groups accused developing countries of siding with Japan in this vote in return for financial aid. These claims were repeatedly denied by the countries involved. There has been a failure to lift the ban on commercial whale hunting and Japan has since threatened to pull out of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Traditional Whaling in Taiji, Japan

Whale meat and environmental toxins

Studies with several species have shown that whale meat often contains dangerously high levels of environmental toxins such as PCB, mercury, and dioxin. The highest concentration of EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds) ever found in any animal was measured recently in the blubber of a Minke Whale, a species commonly hunted by Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters. These toxins are particularly dangerous for pregnant women and growing children, which calls into question the practice of providing whale meat lunches for school children. This is common in whaling areas but it is also on the increase in parts of Japan that do not engage in whaling.

Japanese whaling since the suspension of commercial whaling

Whales taken by Japan while not bound by IWC suspension

Season	Sperm	Bryde's	Minke	Total
1985/86	0	0	1941	1941
1986/87	200	317	2252	2769
1987/88	188	317	304	809

Whales taken under Special Permit (scientific whaling)

Year	Sperm whale	Sei	Bryde's	Minke (Northern area)	Minke (Southern area)	Fin	Total
1987	0	0	0	273	0	0	273
1988	0	0	0	241	0	0	241
1989	0	0	0	330	0	0	330
1990	0	0	0	327	0	0	327
1991	0	0	0	288	0	0	288
1992	0	0	0	330	0	0	330
1993	0	0	0	330	0	0	330
1994	0	0	0	330	21	0	351
1995	0	0	0	440	100	0	540
1996	0	0	0	440	77	0	517
1997	0	0	0	438	100	0	538
1998	0	0	1	389	100	0	490
1999	0	0	0	439	100	0	539
2000	5	0	43	440	40	0	528
2001	8	1	50	440	100	0	599
2002	5	40	50	441	152	0	688
2003	10	50	50	443	101	0	704
2004	3	100	51	160	441	0	755
2005	5	100	50	222	856	10*	1243

'*' 2005 was the first year in which Japan added the endangered Fin Whale to its list of whales to kill under the JARPA research program. Commencing in 2007, Japan plans to increase the number of captured fin whales to 50, and also kill up to 50 Humpback Whales. However, as of December 2007, the mission to hunt humpback whales has been temporarily abandoned [6].

Controversy

Japan catches hundreds of whales every year, mainly from the South Pacific population of Minke Whales. The purpose of this is hotly, and perhaps irreconcilably, disputed by the pro- and anti-whaling lobbies. The Japanese government maintains that its whaling program is purely in the interest of science, as is permitted under the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling. Those opposed to Japanese whaling, such as the governments of New Zealand, Australia and the United States and other countries say that Japan's whaling program is thinly disguised and subsidised commercial whaling.

The number of whales taken by Japan during each year of the moratorium under the Special Permit (Scientific whaling) regulations

Japan is adamant in its belief that a commercial hunt of Minke Whales, and potentially other species, would be sustainable. Japan's desire to restart its commercial whaling is evidenced by its annual petition to the International Whaling Commission requesting that a quota for a commercial Minke Whale hunt be given. Although the IWC General Committee is split roughly 50-50 on whether commercial whaling should recommence, the petition has not yet come close to passing because significant change to the moratorium requires a 75% majority under IWC rules.

Scientific research

Whaling for scientific research has many supporters in Japan. The Japanese public tends to pay little attention to the commercial aspects of whaling since scientific whaling is a subsidised government operation with little economic significance. It is argued that the anti-whaling side is raising the bar of scientific measurement solely to filibuster the implementation of the Revised Management Procedure, that in turn provides justification for scientific whaling. Another and arguably more important justification for scientific whaling is that whaling in whatever form helps to maintain the Japanese whaling tradition.

A major dividing issue in the implementation of the moratorium was the reliability of existing data on whale populations. Critics argued that the existing data was inappropriate for estimating population dynamics, as they were derived mostly from commercial sources which are unrepresentative in terms of age, sex and distribution. This criticism in turn provided a rationale for Japan to push for whaling for "scientific" purposes. Those on the opposite side of the argument pointed out that the scientific catch used the same boats, crew and equipment in the same area of the Pacific Ocean as the commercial hunt carried out prior to the moratorium. Japan says that its scientific research seeks to provide answers to questions about the whales' population, age composition, sex ratio, and natural mortality rate in order to ascertain whether a commercial catch would be sustainable.

The research is conducted under the auspices of the Institute of Cetacean Research, a privately-owned, non-profit institution. The institute receives its funding from whaling company Kyodo Senpaku and from government subsidies. Kyodo Senpaku was formed in 1987 (formerly Kyodo Hogei, since 1976) and is a consolidation of earlier whaling departments of Japanese fisheries. Kyodo Senpaku is a for-profit company that conducts the collection, processing and selling wholesale of the whale specimens on behalf of the research institute. It sells roughly US$60 million worth of whale products each year. The IWC requires any 'byproduct' of scientific whaling to be sold in order to off-set research costs.

Japan carries out its research in two areas - a North Pacific catch and a Southern Hemisphere catch. In 2002, Japanese whalers caught 5 Sperm, 39 Sei, 50 Bryde's and 150 Minke Whales in the northern catch area and 440 Minke Whales in the southern catchment area. This catch of 684 whales is about the same size as Norway's commercial catch, and slightly larger than all aboriginal whaling catches combined. Neither the International Whaling Commission nor its scientific committee have requested any research by the institute.

Some Japanese officials point out whales deplete fish stocks.

Recent events

In July 2004 it was reported that a working group of the Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic had drawn up plans to leave the IWC in order to join a new pro-whaling organization, NAMMCO, because of the IWC's refusal to back the principle of sustainable commercial whaling. Japan is particularly opposed to the IWC Conservation Committee, introduced in 2003, which it says exists solely to prevent any whaling. Any directives from the IWC are undertaken on a purely voluntary basis as state sovereignty means that there are few avenues by which international law can be enforced.

The 2005 Antarctic whaling season began on 7 November 2005. The whaling fleet returned to Japan in April 2006, having taken 853 Minke Whales and 10 Fin Whales as planned, despite numerous protests from NGOs, governments and other actions by activist groups.

In April 2006, Greenpeace claimed it had successfully shut down five private whaling companies after pressuring them "from the high seas to the supermarket shelves".

In late May 2007, even as Japan was advancing its proposal for smallscale coastal whaling at the 59th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission in Anchorage, Alaska, three non-governmental organizations announced the latest of their successes in persuading Japanese fisheries companies to stop the sale of whale meat in Japan.[7]

On December 14 2007, the Australian Rudd Government unveiled plans to deploy the Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force to monitor Japanese whalers about to enter Australian waters. On December 19 2007, the government announced that the Australian Customs Service patrol ship MV Oceanic Viking would be deployed to the Southern Ocean to collect photographic and video evidence that could be used in a future international court challenge to Japanese whaling. Aerial patrols using an Australian Antarctic Division Airbus A319 would also follow and photograph the Japanese fleet.

The Japanese whaling fleet responded in part to the Australian presence on December 21nd by halting any further whaling of Humpbacks in the Southern Ocean. The main reason for change in policy is due to a request by the chairman of the International Whaling Commission, who visited Tokyo a couple of weeks ago asking the Japanese for their co-operation in sorting out the differences between the pro- and anti-whaling nations on the IWC. As a result Japan has agreed that no Humpback whales would be caught for the two years it would take for the IWC to reach a formal agreement.

Japanese anti-whaling activists contend that the Nisshin Maru fleet had never possesed the freezer space to carry out the hunting of Humpback whales. They contend that the Japanese fleet already takes its freezer capacity and the additional tonnage simply would not be feasable. They believe rather, that the back down by the Japanese Government was planned from the time of the initial announcement of the Humpback take and view it as political theatre by the Japanese Government.

In January 2008 further controversy ensued when two activists boarding a whaling ship to protest were tied up and not released.[8]

See also

• Whaling
  • History of Whaling
  • Aboriginal whaling
• Fishery
• Whale watching
• Cuisine of Japan
• Convention of Kanagawa
• International Whaling Commission
• Nisshin Maru
• Dolphin drive hunting
• Taiji, Wakayama

External links

• People profiting from the issue of Whaling
• Dolphin Slaughter in Japan
• Latest video footage of whale being harpooned
• International Whaling Commission Catches table
• Japan Whaling Association
• Whaling Section of Japan
• Whaling Library
• Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
• The Whale Warriors, a book about the Sea Shepherd's efforts to fight Japanese whalers in Antarctica
• Greenpeace Japan
• C. George Muller (Marine Mammal Biologist and Author)
• The Institute of Cetacean Research
• International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
• Catalyst: Whale Science, abc.net.au
• "Did Greens help kill the whale?" by Richard Black, BBC News, 16 May 2007

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