Humpback whale. Credit: Natura Paparrazzo/flickr
By Rich Bowden
A reversal of Japan’s whaling policy is considered to be unlikely under the recently-elected Japanese Government as Australian Government representatives prepare to “strongly” put its views on the issue to the new administration.
Federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett appeared to hold out little hope of a change when he spoke to reporters today but said his Government would continue to lobby the Japanese to end whaling.
“We will continue to put our views strongly on that whaling issue,” he told reporters on Tuesday.
“No one will be under any apprehension about the strong feelings that Australia has but it’s early days in this relationship.”
However the Democratic Party of Japan, which swept away six decades of rule by the conservative Liberal Democratic Party in a dramatic election victory on Sunday, is expected to stick closely to the LDP’s policy of insisting on limited whaling for research and cultural purposes, reports WA Today.
Environment Minister Peter Garrett. Cred: Mushroom and Rooster/flickr
Japan’s controversial whaling program has been slammed by environmental groups and has been a diplomatic thorn in the side of relations between the two Asia Pacific countries. Japan’s haul of whales is legal under a technicality of the rules of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) which allows for a number of whales to be hunted for “scientific” purposes.
Environmental group Greenpeace has called the loophole as “as a disguise for commercial whaling, which is banned” under the moratorium imposed by the IWC in 1986.
Australia also opposes the rule and leads the opposition to whaling at the IWC.
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