Whaling

Can you hear the humpbacks singing?

Can you hear their mournful cry?

What tales are they bringing?

What dreams of times gone bye?

We need to kill more whales

To make a tasty dish

We need more meat for sales

It’s only just a fish

Have you seen the hump-backs playing

And felt your spirit soar?

Have you seen them breach and leap about

As you watched them from the shore?

Don’t listen to those Aussies

They kill kangaroos

Why are they so bossy?

We do what we must do.

It’s been a week of whaling controversy. First there was the trial in Japan of NZ anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune who has been in custody since February when he boarded a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic and then there was Australia’s decision to take Japan to the International Court of Justice in the Hague to bring an end to Japans so called “scientific whaling.” Emotions are running high in both Australia and Japan. Both countries view the issue of whales and whaling as symbols of national identity and sovereign rights. Australians are appalled that Japan continues to slaughter hump-back whales within Australian territorial waters and within the Southern Whale Sanctuary in particular. Most Australians view the Hump-back as a sacred animal, or close to it, with an intelligence close to that of humans and react to their killing as they would to the murder of a human being. The Hump-back Whale is also very important for Australia’s ecotourism industry. The Japanese on the other hand do not recognize Australian sovereignty over Australian Antarctic waters and view whaling as their traditional right. The fact that they have no tradition of modern whaling and particularly in the southern ocean is not seen as relevant. Comments by Japanese citizens that whales “are just a fish” and that “Australians kill kangaroo’s so what is the difference” demonstrate a profound national ignorance in Japan about the nature of the issue. They view attacks on their right to whale as an assault on their national pride and they falsely assume that opposition to Japanese whaling is being driven by anti-Japanese sentiment verging on racism. The depth of feeling can be intense as demonstrated by nationalist activists at the trial of Peter Bethune waving “hang the terrorist” placards. Most Australians visiting Japan or socializing with Japanese friends in Australia simply avoid discussing the issue.

Japan has a long history of whaling. Japans first emperor in the 7th Century, Jimmu, was partial to whale meat and whaling has been practiced in remote Japanese villages forever but with less than 1% of Japanese consuming whale meat until 1908 it is a stretch to see it as traditional. The ancient Japanese whalers additionally worshipped the whale as a god in their Kujira Jinga Shrines and killed them only as necessary for the survival of the village. The ancient Japanese would be appalled by the concept of modern commercial whaling.

The father of modern whaling in Japan was not, however, Japanese but US General Douglas MacArthur. He saw whaling as an economical way of feeding post war Japan and authorized 2 factory ships and 12 chasers in 1946-47. The US additionally provided $800,000 in fuel in return for $4 million worth of whale oil which is a pretty good return on investment. The Japanese were taught modern whaling by the Norwegians and in the peak year of 1962 harvested 226,000 tons of whale meat. Catches then gradually declined as whales were hunted to the point of extinction and the catch in 1985 was a mere 15,000 tons. The United States closed Alaskan waters to Japanese whalers in 1986 and there was a moratorium on commercial whaling. The Japanese in an effort to continue whaling exploited a loophole in the International Whaling Commission rules to allow whaling for scientific purposes and expanded their operations into the southern ocean. Scientific whaling is recognized everywhere as a joke but until this week it has not been legally challenged because deeming it illegal could result in Japan resuming uncontrolled commercial whaling and render the International Whaling Commission irrelevant. Australia’s move is therefore a dangerous one but with flawed protocols and decisions corrupted by many small IWC nations subject to economic coercion by Japan it is important to bring the issue to a head. The bigger and as yet unanswered question is how can the world bring powerful rogue nations like Japan to heel? There is Paul Watson’s Sea-Shepherd approach which has the advantage of keeping the issue in the spotlight but which unfortunately antagonizes the Japanese and hardens their stance. Proactive engagement is probably a better way. There are right winged nationalist hard-heads in Japan but Australia too has its fair share of these. The problem is one of politics and information. Only 11% of Japanese support whaling but on the other hand only 14% oppose it. Most Japanese don't even think about it. The irony of the whole debate is that demand for whale meat in Japan is low. In 2005 for example, 20% of the 4,000 ton haul of whale meat remained unsold as unwanted frozen surplus despite attempts to promote its sale into new markets such as school lunches and dog food. The challenge is to increase political opposition to whaling within Japan. The Japanese tourists on the Perth whale-watching tours are after all just as enthralled by whale watching as the Aussies and most have no interest in consuming whale meat. The value of a living whale is immeasurably greater than that of a whale carcass.