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The Japanese Government’s position on whaling

There are more than 80 species of cetaceans in the world. While some are endangered, some are abundant. The Japanese Government strongly supports the protection of endangered whale species such as Blue whales.

On the other hand, the Japanese Government requests that the international community recognise that:

1.Stocks of certain whale species such as Minke whale are scientifically proven to be not endangered;
2.The limited, sustainable use of such whale species does not pose any overall risk to stocks, and
3.The Japanese Government is strongly opposed to uncontrolled commercial whaling.

The purpose of the IWC

The purpose of the IWC (International Whaling Commission) is to provide for the proper conservation of whale stocks and thus make possible the orderly development of the whaling industry. However in the 1980s, admissions of non-whaling countries that advocated an anti-whaling campaign increased rapidly under the influence of environmental pressure groups. A temporary moratorium on commercial whaling was finally adopted in 1982.

The moratorium was introduced without based on advice from IWC Scientific Committee as a result of pressure from anti-whaling countries that questioned the accuracy of scientific data then available concerning whale stocks (e.g. Natural mortality and the appearance of younger generations, etc.).
Furthermore the moratorium included an agreement that:

This provision will be kept under review, based upon the best scientific advice, and by 1990 at the latest the Commission will undertake a comprehensive assessment of the effects of this decision on whale stocks and consider modification of this provision and the establishment of other catch limits.

IWC Scientific Committee agreed in 1990 that there were 760,000 Minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean as a result of a comprehensive evaluation of Minke whales resourses. Further, in 1992, the IWC Scientific Committee calculated that an annual catch of two thousand to four thousand Antarctic Minke whales for one hundred years would not adversely affect the stock if were calculated in accordance with the Revised

Management Procedure (RMP*).

Unfortunately, the above agreement has been continually disregarded by the anti-whaling countries.

The purpose of the scientific research carried out by the Japanese Government is to remove the element of "uncertainty surrounding the scientific data then available" that was the reason for the temporary moratorium on whaling being imposed. Doing this would allow commercial whaling to be carried out in a sustainable manner, guided by accurate scientific data.

Through research whaling, the Japanese Government conducts continuous studies to accurately assess whale numbers and the state of their ecosystem. On the basis of the data collected, the Japanese Government makes concerted efforts to obtain the understanding of the anti-whaling nations by demonstrating scientific proof that commercial whaling of certain species would not have a negative effect on the species as a whole.

But a portion of committed anti-whaling nations declare that regardless of the level of whale stocks, they are opposed to whaling.

In view of these circumstances, the Norwegian Government raised an objection to the moratorium and commenced commercial whaling. The Government of Iceland, a pro-whaling nation withdrew from IWC (rejoining in 2003), and the Canadian and Philippines Governments also withdrew.

In 1982, the Japanese Government also raised an objection to the moratorium like the Norwegian Government, but the U.S. Government applied the Packwood-Magnuson Amendment** to deny Japan access to its 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the United States, so finally the Japanese Government withdrew its objection to the moratorium, and ceased commercial whaling. However, even after stopping commercial whaling, Japanese fishing boats were regrettably still excluded from the United States’s EEZ.

* In the RMP, moderate catch quotas are calculated for small “sub-areas” that have been set down, corresponding to each whale stock, in consideration of various risks to the resources.

** The Packwood-Magnuson Amendment prohibits fishing in the U.S. EEZ by vessels of a foreign State if the State or its nationals are considered to have diminished the effectiveness of the IWC conservation measures. This amendment used to be a great threat to Japan, which had fishing quotas in the U.S. EEZ. However, given the change in U.S. fishery policy, which now generally precludes fishing by foreign vessels in its EEZ, this amendment has lost substantive meaning.

The Japanese government takes the position that Japan must not withdraw from the IWC. This is because the Japanese government wants to try to obtain understanding from both anti-whaling & non-whaling nations. Japan seeks understanding for the fact that:

1. whales are an international marine resource; and
2. carefully regulated utilisation of whales which is done on a scientific, sustainable basis will not have an negative overall effect on whale stocks.

The cultural relationship between whales and the Japanese

There has long been a deep relationship between the Japanese and whales. Artefacts from the Stone Age, traditional arts, gravestones and monuments all point to the importance of the whale in Japanese society. In Japanese culture, the entirety of a whale carcass is put to use with little waste, including use of the whale’s skin and internal organs. Through Japanese food culture, art and literature, folk festivals and faith, the importance of the whale in Japanese culture is more clearly understood.

Food culture

Around AD 676, the spread of Buddhism in Japan brought with it warnings against eating the meat of cows, poultry, wild boars and other land animals. Similarly, the oldest historical book of Japan, the Kojiki (AD 712) warned against the consumption of land animals. In this way, greater dependency on marine resources as a food source, including whales, emerged in Japan.

In the Middle Ages, whales were referred to as “Isana,” meaning “brave fish.” According to the “Shijohryu-Hohchousho,” a famous cooking book from the Muromachi era (AD 1392-1573), whale was regarded as the finest item on a menu. The consumption of whale meat spread widely throughout Japan during the Edo era (AD 1600-1867). Every part of the whale was carefully prepared and eaten in various prefectures across the country.

Art and Literature

The oldest existing book of poetry in Japan, the “Manyoshu,” contains twelve haiku, (Japanese classical poems) which describe “Catching the brave fish”. In a classical novel of the Edo era, “Toukaidohchu Hizakurige,” two travellers express their enjoyment of whale meat. There are many descriptions of whale in cookbooks, for example in “Geiniku-Choumikata” of the Edo era. Countless other literary works, cooking books, colour woodblock prints, picture scrolls and poems give depictions of how the whale infiltrated Japanese culture.

Folk

Examples of folk festivals and various forms of entertainment pertaining to whaling can be found to this day throughout Japan. The Ainu, native to the Hokkaido prefecture, perform whale dances, while in Mie prefecture whaling vessels are worshipped. In Nagasaki every seven years the annual festival is broadened to become the “Nagasaki-kunchi” festival. A paper-mache model of a whale, the “kujira-shiofuki” is constructed to honour and revere the giant fish. Through these festivals, whales are thought to bring richness and happiness to the Japanese. They are a symbol of good luck and protection against danger.