Whaling and How It Fits into The Japanese Lifestyle

Survival of the Fittest

What is the point of not letting the Japanese hunt whales? Japan is the world's largest consumer of whale meat (Shimbuu 1). As you might already be able to tell, I am not a big whale activist. If these whales were an endangered species, I would feel they had a right to be protected. These whales which are being hunted are not endangered, though, and I feel they are fair game. This paper will cover many topics that support Japanese whaling, such as their economy, culture, and history as well as the health issue of whaling. Also, it will touch upon the International Whaling Commission and the struggle between the United States and Japan. A goal of this paper is to open your mind to the Japanese stance on the issue of whaling and gain a better understanding of how this moratorium is affecting them.

In 1982, the International Whaling Commission adopted the whaling moratorium, which ended all commercial whaling (Abe 1). The Japanese persisted to hunt whales until about 1988. That is when they started hunting whales for "research" purposes due to a loophole in the I.W.C. document that allowed limited whaling of this type (Elder 52). The research programs were funded in a process where they would catch the whales, conduct research on them, then sell the whale meat throughout the country. The I.W.C. document said that there would be a revision of the moratorium no later than 1990. This never occurred. Finally, within the past five years some things began to change. Whales not previously impacted by harvesting can be hunted and the initial annual catch rate would be set at about 0.5% of the estimated current numbers in the wild (Misaki 2). Some activists of this clause state that if they allow whaling, the Japanese will be able to lie about the numbers of whales they caught by not reporting all of the catches. The I.W.C. would enforce the limit by placing inspectors on board the few factory vessels, which will operate (Misaki 2). Then in 1994, the I.W.C. adopted the southern ocean whale sanctuary that included most of the region below the 40-degree South parallel (Abe 2). This calmed the activists because most of the whaling occurs in this area.

Being an island country, Japan's economy centers greatly on whaling and fishing. Many ocean front towns depend almost entirely on these industries. Due to the I.W.C. moratorium, many of these towns are facing economic strife. The livelihoods of Japanese fisherman and their families are endangered by the 12-year-old ban on whaling (CFRA 1). Many of these Japanese people do not understand why they can not hunt whales anymore. The Japanese union said whales are now so plentiful they can easily be hunted for commerce (CFRA 1). Why are we keeping up this ban on whaling is what we must ask ourselves. We are letting these whales ruin the circle of life that any other animal lives by. The whales are eating fish but nobody is hunting the whales. They are acting only as the hunter instead of complying with nature's circle of life and sometimes being the hunted. If they continue to multiply freely, they will harm the marine ecosystem because they consume so much fish (CFRA 1). To keep the balance between killing all whales and letting these whales have free rein over the waters, we desperately need to develop a better plan where some whales can hunted while letting others go free. It is up to the I.W.C. to develop this balance that not only meets the needs of these Japanese communities, but also the needs of the all of the whaling activists. At this time, all of the developments seem to be one-sided, favoring the anti-whaling side.

One of the main differences between North American whaling and Japanese whaling is how we differ in the uses of the whale. Japanese people consume nearly all of the body of these whales, whereas we would use only a small part then throw the rest of the whale away as scraps (Abe 1). Every part of the whale is very useful and in most cases very healthy. Whale meat contains more protein then any other kind of meat and is also an extremely good source of iron (Abe 2). A little known fact is that whale meat is both rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA is the acid that helps to prevent blood vessel diseases and carciogenesis and DHA is an activator of the brain (Abe 2). These are two valuable acids that are very hard to find elsewhere. We must take advantage of this resource.

"A Taste of Japan" is an article written by Donald Richie that compares and contrasts the attitudes towards food held by the Japanese and the rest of the world. In his article, he talks about the difference in the types of utensils they use depending on the season they are in. He also talks a lot about how they value the texture of the food just as much or more then the taste of the food. Putting all of this together helped him to come up with the conclusion that Japanese cuisine is unique in its attitude toward food (Richie 68). If you have ever eaten at a Japanese restaurant, as I have, this is greatly illustrated. Japanese food is not the greatest tasting food in the world but in an economy dominated by fast-food restaurants and Americanized food, the Japanese often choose to eat in their little restaurants. I feel this is due to how their food plays such an important role upon their culture.

Whales have been a big part of the Japanese culture for a long time. Whale meat was recorded on menus from 1000 years ago (Abe 1). Whaling first began in Japan in the 2nd century BC, and has remained a huge industry for them until this moratorium took effect (Abe 1). While other countries began whaling but since have ceased the practice, the Japanese whaling industry held strong throughout this entire period of time. An example of this is the U.S., who stopped whaling in the 1940s and soon after became an activist against the practice (Abe 1).

This leads to the big struggle of the United States versus Japan. Everyone can see that we are obviously different in many ways. The main point in this article is that they support whaling and we do not. I want us to ask ourselves, who are we to tell them what to hunt? Honestly, how many Americans have actually eaten whale meat? Our differing views of the whaling moratorium are due to the fact that Americans do not generally eat whale meat and Japanese do (Elder 53). The whaling moratorium is not only asking the Japanese to stop hunting whales, it is also asking them to completely drop a part of their culture that has been with them for nearly 2200 years. So, we must realize that in asking the Japanese to give up whaling, we are asking them to extremely change their culture. Are we prepared to go about the same type of drastic change in our preference in food (Elder 56)? I guess that is up to each individual to decide. First, the individual must think of how often he or she eats beef. The American demand for fast-food hamburgers is a major influence in destroying the world's rainforests. Hundreds of thousands of acres of our rainforests are being bulldozed in order to raise the beef for our huge demand (Elder 56). As I said in the introduction, I am not a big whale activist. I do, on the other hand, feel that the rainforest is one thing that is of great value to the world today. By wiping out the rainforest, many plants and animals that have never been discovered are being driven to extinction. I think we need to get our priorities in order and tackle one thing at a time. Are we prepared, then, in asking the Japanese to give up whale meat and a huge part of their culture, to sacrifice some of our own eating and cultural habits (Elder 56)?

My feelings on this issue are greatly swayed toward the Japanese side. I feel there is so much more in benefit of them being able to hunt whales, then there is in our keeping them from doing so. Whaling strongly affects the Japanese economy, culture, history, and health. If there was an issue that affected Americans in such a drastic way, I guarantee that every person would be fighting to get the roles reversed. What I can't understand is why we cannot take a second and look at this issue from their perspective. They have much more to lose then we have to gain with this moratorium.