Japan, Defiant, Plans To Kill 210 Whales In Spite Of International Ban
Japan says it plans to continue with its annual whale hunting campaign in the the Northwest Pacific this year. The announcement comes less than a month after an international court ruled that whalers must cease their deadly activities.
In light of the recent court order, "deeply disappointed" Japanese officials agreed to suspend whaling operations in 2014 -- but only in the Southern Ocean. The UN's International Court of Justice (IJC) ruling does not specifically state that it applies to whale hunts conducted elsewhere.
The annual Northwest Pacific hunt, although lesser-known, has been deadlier than its counterpart in the Antarctic.; last years hunt resulted in the deaths of 319 whales. Rueters reports that this years hunt would be scaled back slightly, with a proposed quota of 210 whales.
Japanese officials continue to tout these hunts as ‘scientific' endeavors, usurping an international moratorium on commercial whaling in place for decades.
Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said the ICJ's ruling doesn't ban the use of whales as a resources, adding that "based on this... and in line with international law and scientific principles, our nation will carry out research whaling to get the scientific information essential to manage whales a resource."
This science-minded justification, however, matches little with officials' unabashed consumption of whale. Earlier this week, hundreds of lawmakers and lobbyists, including Hayashi, met at a whale meat buffet to urge that the tradition of eating these animals be upheld.
Japanese officials also announced that, despite the ruling, it will resume whaling activities in the Southern Ocean beginning next year, saying that the scope of the "research" will be changed to comply with the ICJ's ruling.
"We are revising the contents of the research to take into consideration the court's decision to the greatest extent that we can," Hayashi says. "We want to gather scientific data in order to resume commercial whaling as soon as possible."
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