Japan Times Speaks Out Against Whaling

The Japan Times today has questioned the continued practice of whaling.

Looking back over the last few years of whaling the Times discusses the fact that ” last year, Japan only caught about 18 percent of its
self-imposed quota of some 1,000 whales in the Antarctic Ocean. The
traditional custom of eating whale meat has considerably declined. Many
reports show that whale meat from whales killed last year is piling up
in refrigerated warehouses. All of the facts concerning the stock of
whale meat should be made public.

If whale meat were really a cheap source of
daily, delicious meals, as is claimed, it would be found in every
supermarket in Japan. Meat from those 170 or so whales is, in fact,
rarely sold.”

The Japan Times recognises that whaling did have a role in Japan’s history, going on to say,

“Whale meat was surely an important part of
Japan’s heritage, and a major source of protein in the lean times after
World War II. However, its continued consumption, for either culinary,
dietary or cultural reasons, hardly seems compelling at this point.

Continuing the whale hunts means Japan will
continue to pay dearly in international diplomatic costs for its right
to maintain a tradition that extends far beyond the borders of the
country’s culture yet is no longer central to daily life here at home.”

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