Japan's angry fishermen

Japanese fishermen are openly complaining about fishing boats of the Republic of Korea (South Korea) and China operating in this country's coastal waters. The National Federation of Fisheries Cooperative Associations blames them for damaging Japanese fishing gear and operating in no-fishing zones even when the fishing season is over.

The federation complains that their "reckless operations are too much to tolerate". In particular, the foreign vessels are engaged in rampant overfishing in areas off Hokkaido and north- west of Kyushu.

No wonder fishermen in this country are angry. Japan last year ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and set up a 200-nautical mile exclusive economic zone.

And in January this year, it imposed limits on overall fish hauls. However, these new regulations do not apply to South Korean and Chinese fishing boats because bilateral fishery agreements signed many years ago are still in effect.

Thus, while Japanese fishermen are required to limit their hauls, Chinese and South Korean fishermen continue to fish with abandon. That is certainly unfair.

-- Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo