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Japan defiant as whaling meet votes against hunt
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AN international whaling conference voted yesterday against Japan’s highly criticized plans to resume whaling in the Antarctic next year, but Japan vowed to go ahead anyway.
A resolution adopted at the International Whaling Commission meet in Portoroz, Slovenia, said Japan should abide by an International Court of Justice ruling that said that its whaling program is illegal because it isn’t for research purposes.
Immediately after the resolution was adopted by a 35-20 vote, Japan announced it will launch a new “research” program that will resume whale hunting in the Antarctic in 2015. The court ruling said some “scientific” whaling is allowed under very strict conditions, which Japan said it would meet.
“We’ll be providing and submitting a new research plan in the Antarctic Ocean so that we implement research activities starting from 2015,” said Joji Morishita, head of Japan’s team. “And all these activities are perfectly in accordance with international law, scientific basis as well as the ICJ judgment.”
Approval from the commission’s scientific committee isn’t mandatory, but Japan’s resumption of whaling in the Antarctic without the body’s consent after a one-year pause would likely face intense scrutiny. The resolution said that no further “special permits” for whaling will be issued under Japan’s existing programs, or any new program, unless strict “scientific” criteria are met.
Australia led the opposition. Many conference member countries believe Japan’s whaling program is not for research, but commercial purposes — producing meat and oil.
Animal protection groups welcomed the passage of the resolution, but denounced Japan’s move. “Additional action is needed to encourage and persuade the government of Japan to reconcile itself to the emerging global consensus for whale conservation,” said Patrick Ramage of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
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