Japan slams U.S. for sanctions threat over whales

The Bryde's whale is one of the species at the center of the debate

September 5, 2000
Web posted at: 9:46 AM EDT (1346 GMT)

HONOLULU (AP) -- The highest-ranking Japanese member of the International Whaling Commission declared Monday that slapping sanctions on his country for its whale research program would only backfire on the United States.

Masayuki Komatsu, the group's deputy commissioner, said many American workers would suffer if the sanctions were imposed.

"Tens of thousands of Americans engaged in importing and marketing fishery products will lose jobs and income, which now bring them more than $1.2 billion annually," he said at a conference on Pacific fish stocks.

Komatsu was responding to remarks by U.S. Commerce Secretary Norman Mineta, who said he was considering asking President Clinton to ban imports of Japanese fishery products to show opposition to Japan's decision to add larger Bryde's and sperm whales to its research program, which until now was confined to minke whales.

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In an opinion piece published in The Honolulu Advertiser, Mineta called Japan's claims that the whales must be killed to collect research data "preposterous."

"We are concerned that the expansion of the Japanese hunt to larger whales is aimed at paving the way for an outright resumption of commercial whaling," Mineta said.

The whaling commission banned commercial whaling in the mid-1980s, but allowed some whales to be killed for research purposes. The commission requires that all parts of whales taken for research be used, and parts wind up being sold commercially in fish markets.

Japan needs to conduct research on whales to study pollution levels and the depletion of fish stocks, Komatsu said. By opening the stomachs of whales, scientists can track how much fish the whales are eating.

Whale blubber also is a great receptacle for dioxin, PCBs and other toxic chemicals, Komatsu said, adding that it can help determine the best way to combat pollution. He also claimed that many scientists say there is no other way to conduct the research without killing whales.

U.S. officials boycotted a U.N. environmental conference that began last week in Japan to protest Japan's decision to begin hunting Bryde's and sperm whales.

In 1999, Japan hunted 100 minke whales in the North Pacific, and 440 minke whales in Antarctic waters. This year, Japan is adding 50 Bryde's whales and 10 sperm whales to its North Pacific totals.

Copyright 2000 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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International Whaling Commission

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