guardian.co.uk,Associated Press in Tokyo, Tuesday 4 October 2011
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| Japanese whaling ship No. 3 Yushin Maru (left) and the Sea Shepherd's ship the Bob Barker collide last year. Whalers will have more security to fend off activists this year. Photograph: AP |
Japan willgo ahead with its whaling me in the Antarctic later this year under heightenedsecurity to fend off activists who have vowed to disrupt the annual hunt, thecountry's fisheries minister said Tuesday.
Japan'swhale hunts have become increasingly tense in recent years because of clasheswith the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. The most recent expedition was cutshort after several high-seas confrontations, and it was unclear whether thehunt would be held at all this year.
Butfisheries minister Michihiko Kano said that measures would be taken to ensurethe whalers' safety, and that the hunt would go ahead. It is expected to beginin December.
"Weintend to carry out the research after enhancing measures to assure that it isnot obstructed," he said.
Commercialwhaling has been banned since 1986, but Japan conducts whale hunts in theAntarctic and the north-western Pacific under an exception that allows limitedkills for research purposes.
Japan'sgovernment claims the research is needed to provide data on whale populationsso that the international ban on commercial whaling can be re-examined – and,Japan hopes, lifted – based on scientific studies.
Opponentssay the programme is a guise for keeping Japan's dwindling whaling industryalive. The Sea Shepherd group, which is already rallying to block the upcominghunt, has been particularly dogged in its efforts to stop the kills.
Last year'sseason was marred by repeated incidents with Sea Shepherd vessels, one of whichsank after colliding with a Japanese ship. The boat's captain, New ZealanderPeter Bethune, was later arrested when he boarded a whaling ship from a jetski, and brought back to Japan for trial.
He wasconvicted of assault, vandalism and three other charges and given a suspendedprison term. Bethune has since returned to New Zealand.
Sea Shepherdrecently announced that it is calling its effort to obstruct the Decemberexpedition "Operation Divine Wind" – a reference to the"kamikaze" suicide missions carried out by the Japanese military inWorld War II.
Thoughvilified by anti-whaling organisations around the world, the government'sstrong pro-whaling position has the support of the Japanese public, accordingto an AP poll conducted in July and August which found that 52% favour it, with35% neutral and 13% opposed.
Once acommon item on school lunch menus, whale meat can be found in stores andrestaurants in Japan. But, because of its relatively high price, it isgenerally regarded as a gourmet food by the public.
