Japanese Government Restates Its Position on Whaling
December 8, 2007
In the face of growing protests the Japanese Government has released a statement to the press restating its position on whaling. The Japanese Government claims it strongly supports the protection of endangered species but Japan’s basic approach is to encourage the sustainable use of natural resources. The Government claims scientific whaling is essential in order to collect necessary information for the proper management of whale resources.
Scientific Research Whaling is a legitimate right of the Contracting Party under Article VIII of the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW), which is the founding convention of IWC (International Whaling Commission) and Japan’s scientific research whaling is conducted on what the Government states is a limited scale so as not to affect the stocks of those species.
According to Japan’s sighting survey, the stock of fin whales and humpback whales has been increasing at an annual rate of 14% to 16%. Moreover, the Scientific Committee of IWC has confirmed that the stock has been increasing at high rates of at least 10%. The estimated number of humpback whales is about 35,500.
The Japanese Government said “One striking example is the number of Minke whales caught by Japan (850), which represents almost 0.1% of the estimated stock mentioned (761,000). The number of humpback whales Japan is planning to catch during the current season is also small (50), i.e. 0.1% of the estimated stock mentioned (35,500). Therefore, Japan’s scientific whaling poses no threat to whale stocks.”
Have you ever told the truth Japan? On anything? Do you believe in anything other than yourselves? You make America look like saints.