Whaling bribery denied by Japan

Whaling bribery denied by Japan

TOKYO (Reuters): A senior Japanese official was in hot water
on Thursday over comments suggesting Tokyo used aid money to win
backing for its drive to lift a whaling ban and for describing
the minke whale as the "cockroach of the oceans".

Japan, the world's biggest consumer of whale meat and the
number one aid donor, moved quickly to put a positive spin on
remarks by senior Fisheries Agency official Masayuki Komatsu that
have already angered conservationists.

An internal agency document denied that Komatsu said in an
interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp that Japan had used
the inducement of development aid to win support from poorer
nations for its campaign to lift the international ban on
whaling.

The comments were expected to draw an angry response from
countries opposed to whaling at the annual general meeting of the
International Whaling Commission in London next week.