Japan's whaling plans

Japan's whaling plans

This year's annual meeting of the International Whaling
Commission (IWC) ended in usual acrimony.

The only realistic formula potentially acceptable for both
camps would be to ban commercial whaling on the high seas and
limit catches to coastal whaling. The anti-whaling nations should
allow each country to make whaling decisions in their economic
waters.

Japan has the right to preserve its tradition of coastal
whaling. But it would be better advised to refrain from going as
far as the Antarctic Ocean to hunt whales.

The IWC is now almost equally divided between pro-whaling and
anti-whaling states. It is no longer rare for an inland country
to join the commission as a new member.

Constructive discussions on this issue are needed to calmly
review the extreme stances both parties have presented at IWC
meetings.
-- The Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo