Mr. Mori needs to get the point. If Japan continues to kill hundreds of whales a year, they will face serious political consequences. Japan kills over 500 whales each year, including species such as Sperm and Bryde s, which are endangered under U.S. law. The Japanese whaling fleet is currently returning from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary surrounding Antarctica, where it kills 440 Minke whales annually. Minke is the last of the Great Whale species that has not been decimated by commercial whaling.
Japan claims that the whaling is for scientific purposes, but the whale meat is sold as a delicacy.
The Prime Minister should not let the Japanese Whaling Association and a few bureaucrats in the Fisheries Agency damage Japan s foreign policy. Japan has a history of exploiting loopholes in conservation treaties to continue its commercial hunt. These treaties were created to protect the remaining great whales and allow them a chance to recover from the multiple threats to survival they face including pollution, global warming, and other destructive practices. For more information, visit our Oceans section.