Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pours President Obama some hot
sake at one of Tokyo's
finest sushi bars. No word on what
else was on the menu.
Whaling Advocate Wants Obama Served Whale Meat (Sankei Shimbun, Japan)
"While Former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro
Nikai boldly suggested, 'I want to see whale meat on
the table at the state dinner for President Obama' ... Ultimately, the government
decided that it wasn't wise to attract the attention of anti-whaling countries right
before Mr. Obama's visit, and that a 'fresh start' could be made afterwards."
Protesters outside of the U.S. Embassy in Manila demonstrate against an expanded American military presence in the Philippines, before being 'dispersed' by water cannons, Apr. 7.
The
government has postponed research whaling in the Northwest Pacific, which was
originally scheduled to commence on April 22. In light of the International Court of
Justice ruling that Japanese research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean violates
the International
Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, the government forecasts that if the current system is used in coastal waters, Japan would again likely lose a suit brought by anti-whaling
countries. On the other hand, there is also a need to consider domestic public
opinion, which wants
to see a continuation of whaling. During the period of postponement, the
government's back is against the wall. It is being forced to formulate new plans,
backed by scientific evidence, that will be able to counter suits files by the anti-whaling
countries.
[Editor's
Note: While Japan has agreed to halt Antarctic whale hunting for 2014-2015, it appears
poised to resume the practice after that, perhaps by reducing the size of
its "catch." Since 2007, Japan has sought to hunt up to 1,035 whales,
a number the ICJ found to be excessive and scientifically
unjustified.]
Though
the effect of the ICJ decision doesn’t extend to scientific
whaling in the Northwest Pacific, the ruling refers to the fact that whenever Tokyo
issues new permits for research whaling, it needs to take into account the ruling's reasoning
and conclusions. Since it is the view of the Foreign Ministry that
continuing the current program of research whaling in the Northwest Pacific would
infringe on the court's decision, coastal whaling has been postponed.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
However,
at the [ruling] Liberal Democratic Party's general meeting on Apr. 17, whaling advocacy
groups, dissatisfied with the government's decision, expressed a bumper crop of
complaints. Former Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada raised his voice to executives
of the [Japanese] Fisheries Agency, saying “If you have no motivation [to help],
say you have no motivation."
Former
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Toshihiro Nikai, bearing in mind that the U.S. is an anti-whaling
country, boldly suggested, “I want to see whale meat on the table at the state
dinner for President Obama, who is now visiting Japan.”
As
a reason for postponing Northwest Pacific whaling, the Fisheries Agency cited a
lack of security for responding to anti-whaling groups bent on sabotage, although
there has never been such hindrances to coastal whaling before, so this line of
reasoning failed to convince.
In
fact, the delay is largely due to the fact that to respond to the ICJ ruling, whaling plans will have to be completely
redrawn, since the current whale quotas "fail to meet the criteria for
scientific research."
Ultimately,
the government decided that it wasn't wise to attract the attention of
anti-whaling countries right before Mr. Obama's visit, and that a "fresh
start" could be made later.
