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HISTORY ]] The oldest written mention of whaling in Japanese records is from Kojiki , the oldest Japanese historical book written in the seventh century. In this book whale meat was eaten by Emperor Jimmu . In Man'yōshū , the word "Whaling" (いさなとり) was frequently used in depicting the ocean or beaches. Japanese traditional whaling technique was dramatically developed in Taiji, Wakayama in 17th century. Chubei Wada organized the group hunting system (刺手組) and introduced new handheld harpoon in 1606. Kakuemon Wada , later known as Kakuemon Taiji, invented the whaling net technique called Amitori hou(網取法) and increase the safety and efficiency of whaling. Whaling has been frequently mentioned in Japanese historical sources. {Link without Title}
Whales have long been a source of food, oil, and crafts' material. A famous Proverb quotes: "There's nothing to throw away from a whale except its voice." In 1853 , a US naval officer Matthew Perry forced open Japan's doors to the world. One of the purposes was to obtain a base for whaling in the north-west Pacific Ocean . Following the devastation of World War II , food was scarce, consequently whales, being a cheap source of protein, became a larger part of the Japanese post-war diet. In 1982 , the International Whaling Commission voted on a moratorium on commercial whaling to go into force in 1986 . While Japan initially intended to oppose the moratorium, they in submission withdrew due to the threat of economic sanctions made by the United States. Japan continues whaling today under a scientific research permit. Japan's whale consumption peaked in 1962 at 226,000 tons, then declined steadily until it fell to 15,000 tons in 1985 , the year before the commercial whaling ban took place.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/14/world/asia/14whaling.html?pagewanted=2 At an , Japan]] WHALE MEAT AND ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS Studies with several species have shown that whale meat often contains dangerously high levels of environmental toxins such as PCB , Mercury , and Dioxin . http://palumbi.stanford.edu/manuscripts/Simmonds%20et%20al%202002.pdf#search=%22whale%20meat%20toxin%20palumbi%20pdfhttp://www.safetyfirst.gr.jp/english/newspaper/asahi2003jan18-e.html The highest concentration of EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds) ever found in any animal was measured recently in the blubber of a Minke Whale,http://www.deh.gov.au/minister/ps/2002/psmr12april02.html a species commonly hunted by Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters. These toxins are particularly dangerous for pregnant women and growing children, which calls into question the practice of providing whale meat lunches for school children. This is common in whaling areashttp://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4106688.stm?ls but it is also on the increase in parts of Japan that do not engage in whaling.http://english.people.com.cn/200602/15/eng20060215_242797.html JAPANESE WHALING SINCE THE SUSPENSION OF COMMERCIAL WHALING
CONTROVERSY Japan catches hundreds of Whales every year, mainly from the South Pacific population of Minke Whales. The purpose of this is hotly, and perhaps irreconcilably, disputed by the pro- and anti- Whaling lobbies. The Japanese government maintains that its whaling program is purely in the interest of science, as is permitted under the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling. Those opposed to Japanese whaling, such as the governments of New Zealand , Australia and the United States and other countries say that Japan's whaling program is thinly disguised and subsidised commercial whaling. Japan is adamant in its belief that a commercial hunt of Minke Whales, and potentially other species, would be sustainable. Japan's desire to restart its commercial whaling is evidenced by its annual petition to the International Whaling Commission requesting that a quota for a commercial Minke Whale hunt be given. Although the IWC General Committee is split roughly 50-50 on whether commercial whaling should recommence, the petition has not yet come close to passing because significant change to the moratorium requires a 75% majority under IWC rules. SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH Whaling for scientific research has many supporters in Japan. The Japanese public tends to pay little attention to the commercial aspects of whaling since scientific whaling is a subsidised government operation with little economic significance. It is argued that the anti-whaling side is raising the bar of scientific measurement solely to filibuster the implementation of the Revised Management Procedure, that in turn provides justification for scientific whaling. Another and arguably more important justification for scientific whaling is that whaling in whatever form helps to maintain the Japanese whaling tradition. A major dividing issue in the implementation of the moratorium was the reliability of existing data on whale populations. Critics argued that the existing data was inappropriate for estimating population dynamics, as they were derived mostly from commercial sources which are unrepresentative in terms of age, sex and distribution. This criticism in turn provided a rationale for Japan to push for whaling for "scientific" purposes. Those on the opposite side of the argument pointed out that the scientific catch used the same boats, crew and equipment in the same area of the Pacific Ocean as the commercial hunt carried out prior to the moratorium. Japan says that its scientific research seeks to provide answers to questions about the whales' population, age composition, sex ratio, and natural mortality rate in order to ascertain whether a commercial catch would be sustainable. The research is conducted under the auspices of the Institute Of Cetacean Research , a privately-owned, non-profit institution. The institute receives its funding from whaling company Kyodo Senpaku and from government subsidies. Kyodo Senpaku was formed in 1987 (formerly Kyodo Hogei, since 1976) and is a consolidation of earlier whaling departments of Japanese fisheries. Kyodo Senpaku is a for-profit company that conducts the collection, processing and selling wholesale of the whale specimens on behalf of the research institute. It sells roughly US$60 million worth of whale products each year. The IWC requires any 'byproduct' of scientific whaling to be sold in order to off-set research costs. Japan carries out its research in two areas - a North Pacific catch and a Southern Hemisphere catch. In 2002, Japanese whalers caught 5 Sperm , 39 Sei , 50 Bryde's and 150 Minke Whales in the northern catch area and 440 Minke Whales in the southern catchment area. This catch of 684 whales is about the same size as Norway's commercial catch, and slightly larger than all aboriginal whaling catches combined. Neither the International Whaling Commission nor its scientific committee have requested any research by the institute. Japan also blames whales, not overfishing, for depleting fish stocks.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4106688.stm?ls RECENT EVENTS In July 2004 it was reportedhttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3892909.stm that a working group of the Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic had drawn up plans to leave the IWC in order to join a new pro-whaling organization, NAMMCO , because of the IWC's refusal to back the principle of sustainable commercial whaling. Japan is particularly opposed to the IWC Conservation Committee, introduced in 2003, which it says exists solely to prevent any whaling. Any directives from the IWC are undertaken on a purely voluntary basis as state sovereignty means that there are few avenues by which international law can be enforced. The 2005 Antarctic whaling season began on , having taken 853 Minke Whale s and 10 Fin Whale s as planned, despite numerous protests from NGOs, governments and other actions by activist groups. In April 2006, Greenpeace claimed it had successfully shut down five private whaling companies after pressuring them "from the high seas to the supermarket shelves".http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4874594.stm] In late May 2007, even as Japan was advancing its proposal for smallscale coastal whaling at the 59th anniversary of the International Whaling Commission in Anchorage, Akaska, three non-governmental organizations announced the latest of their successes in persuading Japanese fisheries companies to stop the sale of whale meat in Japan. REFERENCES SEE ALSO
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