The animal rights movement has yet to penetrate Japan in any significant  the cormorants' throats are constricted so they can't swallow the fish they catch underwater, and their owners retrieve the catch when the hapless birds resurface.
Animal rights are of utmost importance in Japan today.
mnli hypothesis: Animal rights are of utmost importance in Japan today. premise: The animal rights movement has yet to penetrate Japan in any significant  the cormorants' throats are constricted so they can't swallow the fish they catch underwater, and their owners retrieve the catch when the hapless birds resurface.