The Big Lie Behind Japanese Whaling
TOKYO ?
The International Court of Justice’s decision last March to prohibit Japan’s annual whale hunt in Antarctic waters was greeted by many as an historic step against a reprehensible practice.
Yet last month, despite the enormous diplomatic toll, Japan vowed to continue its whaling activities under a controversial research program of dubious scientific merit.
Japan’s determination may seem puzzling, but only if you assume its whaling activities are about science, or that its purportedly scientific whaling is a cover for commercial whaling.
In fact, Japan’s pro-whaling stance isn’t really about whales at all; instead, it is about ensuring access to other fishing resources.
Japan’s so-called research whaling program is far from scientific: Thanks to unprofessional methodology and sloppy standards, its findings are widely regarded as risible.
Some 3,600 whales have been slaughtered since 2005, but Japan’s Institute for Cetacean Research (I.C.R.), the de facto government entity that oversees the country’s whaling program,
has only two peer-reviewed scholarly articles to show for it. And much robust testing doesn’t even require killing whales.
Meanwhile, the market for whale meat in Japan has slumped considerably.
Whaling proponents claim the practice helps safeguard Japan’s culinary heritage against Western cultural imperialism.
But survey after survey shows that outside a handful of small whaling communities, most Japanese regard whale meat with indifference, if not disgust.
They eat less than 24 grams per capita annually.
Thousands of tons of frozen whale steaks and whale bacon languish unwanted in expensive cold storage.
As a result, the I.C.R., once largely funded by the sale of whale meat, is now claiming more taxpayer money.
（略）
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/14/opinion/the-big-lie-behind-japanese-whaling.html
年々予算に対する赤字額は増加してるが差額は補助金として補填されてる
それに加え震災以降KKPの名目を利用して4年年間40億以上ゲットしてる（〜16年まで）