Activist Watson vows to act against Iceland whaling, monitor Japanese ships

He currently lives in France, an anti-whaling country, as an honorary citizen of Paris.

I didn't know this - bravo to France.

I admire this guy, he has continually shined a light on the dark corners of the selfish and bogus whaling practices of countries like Japan, and I applaud him for that. I am pro conservation.

And for those who are interested, there's a little shop down on Kanpachi dori near Kamata, that has whale meat vending machines. In fact, that's all it has. Take yourself down there and sample what 'Scientific whaling' practices taste like.

"People weren't really supporting me as an individual."

Stop right there. I think you may be on to something.

Why would this character take it upon himself to harm the Japanese economy and desecrate Japanese whaling culture? Someone should call Interpol on this guy.

One would think that Japan should be done with it's ""Scientific Research"" !!?? by now.

So the guy is already saying that he is going to "interfere" with legal activities by using illegal activities. This guy is a menace. Bring him to Japan and lock him up. Or we can just wait for Iceland to do it.

Watson was invited to a film festival on human rights in Geneva this month, but he did not come to Switzerland as he "couldn't get anything in writing from the Swiss authorities saying that I would not be detained."

Haha

"Monitor" Japanese ships? Dearest fugitive man-child. You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means...

Marc LoweToday  07:52 am JST

Why would this character take it upon himself to harm the Japanese economy and desecrate Japanese whaling culture? Someone should call Interpol on this guy.

Waling in Japan employs around 300 individuals and relies heavily on government subsidies, receiving nearly $50 million annually to remain operational and running at an considerable loss to a rapidly diminishing market.

Hunting whales in the South Pacific has never been part of Japan's traditional culture.

I think he has exhausted his status in Australia , so no support if he tries stuff in Antarctic waters.

I oppose whaling BTW.

His mates should stage an "intervention " as for drug addicts and religious devotees.

"Paul...Paul...its time to let it go..."

sorakToday  10:05 am JST

Marc LoweToday  07:52 am JST

Why would this character take it upon himself to harm the Japanese economy and desecrate Japanese whaling culture? Someone should call Interpol on this guy.

Waling in Japan employs around 300 individuals and relies heavily on government subsidies, receiving nearly $50 million annually to remain operational and running at an considerable loss to a rapidly diminishing market.

Hunting whales in the South Pacific has never been part of Japan's traditional culture.

Ouch, facts gonna hurt nationalists.

while continuing to monitor whether Japanese ships return to the Southern Ocean to hunt the marine mammal in the area.

Waste of doner money. Japan hasn't hunted whales outside of their own territorial waters and EEZ since 2019.

WoodyLeeToday  07:53 am JST

One would think that Japan should be done with it's ""Scientific Research"" !!?? by now.

Japan's"Research Whaling" ended in 2019. Since then Japan has conducted "Commercial Whaling".

I know you think that's a cute comment, but the fact is that "scientific whaling" has been ongoing from even before the Moratorium in 1986 .The IWC has a Scientific Comittee that gathers and analyzes data, obviously necessary since the the IWC was created to regulate International whaling. Japan was submitting this data prior to 2019 as required by IWC rules.

sorakToday  10:05 am JST

Hunting whales in the South Pacific has never been part of Japan's traditional culture.

Japan first started whaling in the Southern Ocean in 1934. This is back when all the presently anti-whaling nations were still whaing. Whaling itself is part of traditional Japanse culture.

Indigenous peoples like the Inuit hunt whales because it is a tradition. But now they use high powered rifles, outboard engined motorboats and snowmobiles to carry off the meat. None of which is "traditional" in the strictest sense. But whaling itself is part of their tradition and culture.

Watson should come back to Japan, have his day in court, and clear his name if he really believes he is innocent.

I bet he doesn't try and bully the Icelandic whalers as he did with Japanese. Icelanders, Danes, Faroese etc will not be as kind to him as Japanese. They don't mess around.

Ossan....you could discuss why Japans taxpayers support whaling .

Anything to do with LDP needing to "buy support " in seats that are/were whaling towns ?

I suppose you could argue this was "cultural " as well.

Could be seen as a corrupt diversion of monies for rank political objectives as well.

BTW whaling was stopped because whales were close to extinction...some species at least...and it was hard to find commercial reasons to continue.

If Japan withdrew subsidies, the industry would die.

Personally, I would like to see Ninjas reinvented, subsidized, and put to work catching people spying on ladies bathing.

Fine, then hunt whales who unfortunately find themselves in Japanese territorial seas only as the J gov claimed it would do when it withdrew from the IWC.

Whaling itself is part of traditional Japanse culture.

deanzaZZRToday  10:59 am JST

Fine, then hunt whales who unfortunately find themselves in Japanese territorial seas only as the J gov claimed it would do when it withdrew from the IWC.

Japan has only hunted whales in Japanese territorial waters and EEZ since 2019.

At least the dolphin fancier/activist Ric O'Barry heeded the advice when he was warned off Japan. He caused trouble for the locals in Wakayama around 20 years back during their annual traditional dolphin hunts, and old Ric wisely heeded their warnings to stay well away - for his own safety.

Ric hasn't messed with Japan since. Watson should follow suit.

GuruMickToday  10:54 am JST

Ossan....you could discuss why Japans taxpayers support whaling .

Why? What does that have anything to do with an Interpol arrest warrant for Watson on charges that have nothing to do with "whaling" itself?

BTW whaling was stopped because whales were close to extinction...some species at least...and it was hard to find commercial reasons to continue.

The moratorium went into effect in 1986 with the stipulation that the data would be reviwed in 10 years. It was never meant to be a permanent IWC position. But the actions of the anti-whaling activists in convicing non-whaling nations to join to IWC, and converting many IWC members into anti-whaling positions caused the review to never happen. Japan just stupidly followed the original IWC rules 1987-2019.

The IWC came into existence in 1946 to "regulate the whaling industry" when all the founding nations were whaling. After the 1986 moratorium, Norway, Iceland, Japan and the USSR(Russia) continued whaling. You are correct that the worldwide demand for whale products diminished over this time period as plastics (which now has given us another problem) replaced them.

Correct me if I am wrong...but hadnt most whaling nations stopped well before the "moratorium " in 1986. ?

If so, why.

I think some other international framework was applied in the years before 1986.

What whale products had the use that plastics currently do , how long have plastics been in production ?

If Japan stopped subsidising whaling, Japans whaling would die, no Watson adventurism and no Interpol warrant.

OssanAmericaToday  10:37 am JST

sorakToday  10:05 am JST

Hunting whales in the South Pacific has never been part of Japan's traditional culture.

Japan first started whaling in the Southern Ocean in 1934. This is back when all the presently anti-whaling nations were still whaing. Whaling itself is part of traditional Japanse culture.

Indigenous peoples like the Inuit hunt whales because it is a tradition. But now they use high powered rifles, outboard engined motorboats and snowmobiles to carry off the meat. None of which is "traditional" in the strictest sense. But whaling itself is part of their tradition and culture.

Only in Wakayama, not all of Japan.

The nationwide eating of whale meat in Japan only began after WW2, when the US encouraged it because people were not getting enough protein.

National tradition?!

lol - ask your family and friends when they last ate whale meat. Most young Japanese have never and will never eat it.

taekwondoToday  12:01 pm JST

Only in Wakayama, not all of Japan.

The nationwide eating of whale meat in Japan only began after WW2, when the US encouraged it because people were not getting enough protein.

Another famous fallacy that anti-whalers believe.

Whaling itself, documented, goes back to the Heian Period (AD 794–1185).

Large scale Whaling started from Wakayama in the 1570s and spead to other parts of Japan. German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold wrote of the whaling he saw in Nagasaki in his work "Nippon (1832-1852).

There are Kujirazuka, mounds honoring whales that go back to the Edo Period (1603-1868) found in Wakayama, Nagasaki, Kochi, Osaka, Yamaguchi, Chiba, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, etc.

The first steam powered harpoon-gunned whaling ship built in Japan was in 1899, and the technology was all from Norway.

When WWII ended the US had been supplying the Pacific Islands with canned meat (ie; SPAM) but when GHQ realized that Japan still had a sizeable operable whaling fleet, they directed Japan to resume whaling operations as a protein source.

So no, whaling in Japan did not start after WWII.

OssanAmericaToday  12:28 pm JST

taekwondoToday  12:01 pm JST

Only in Wakayama, not all of Japan.

The nationwide eating of whale meat in Japan only began after WW2, when the US encouraged it because people were not getting enough protein.

Another famous fallacy that anti-whalers believe.

Whaling itself, documented, goes back to the Heian Period (AD 794–1185).

Large scale Whaling started from Wakayama in the 1570s and spead to other parts of Japan. German physician Philipp Franz von Siebold wrote of the whaling he saw in Nagasaki in his work "Nippon (1832-1852).

There are Kujirazuka, mounds honoring whales that go back to the Edo Period (1603-1868) found in Wakayama, Nagasaki, Kochi, Osaka, Yamaguchi, Chiba, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Kumamoto, Kagoshima, etc.

The first steam powered harpoon-gunned whaling ship built in Japan was in 1899, and the technology was all from Norway.

When WWII ended the US had been supplying the Pacific Islands with canned meat (ie; SPAM) but when GHQ realized that Japan still had a sizeable operable whaling fleet, they directed Japan to resume whaling operations as a protein source.

So no, whaling in Japan did not start after WWII.

Yes, but a few isolated periods in specific areas don't constitute a long-standing tradition of eating whale meat. It only became widely consumed across Japan after World War II.

It's a pretty weak argument for continuing whaling since 99% Japanese people don't eat whale meat. It only supports a few hundred jobs and relies on taxpayer money to stay afloat.

Traditional whaling. In previous times whales were hunted from small open boats, not modern-day whale hunter ships. The whale had a chance. Man against whale and sometimes the whale won. Only one whale at a time could be caught.

It's the method of killing whales. Explosive harpoons. The whale can take several hours to die. Pregnant whales are also harpooned.

Keep fighting the good fight Captain Watson!

GuruMickToday  11:46 am JST

Correct me if I am wrong...but hadnt most whaling nations stopped well before the "moratorium " in 1986. ?

If so, why.

Most (using US,UK,Austr,NZ) had ended whaling in the 1960s-70s.

I think some other international framework was applied in the years before 1986.

Don't see any. If you know of any please list it.

What whale products had the use that plastics currently do , how long have plastics been in production ?

Do you know how to use google?

Whalebone (baileen) used for corsets and umbrellas. Fans, combs and brushes.

Whale Ivory, decoative for furniture and artwork, scrimshaw.

Plastics, while in use as early as 1920s, came into widespread global use in hte 1960s-70s.

If Japan stopped subsidising whaling, Japans whaling would die, no Watson adventurism and no Interpol warrant.

Maybe yes, maybe no. But that doesn't justify Watson's criminal actions.

From a food security perspective, even if actual whaling itself is not needed in the here and now, maintaining a whaling fleet is important. Should their equipment and experience ever become necessary due to some unforeseen circumstances (war, famine, embargos, cataclysmic disaster, whatever), it is critical that they will be ready to spring into action.

Just like having a standing military. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.

When push comes to shove, human lives will (and should) always be prioritized over animal lives.

Keep fighting the good fight Captain Watson!

Not a Captain, not a master of any vessel, completely uneducated, no licenses, unqualified in any measurable way for anything. Just a narcissistic hippy who's found a niche he can work his con in while obstructing the ecological conservation movement, the very thing he claims to champion. Basically a gender reassigned Greta Thunberg in 50 years time.

Ossan...just let it go...

I ate whale meet karaage last Friday and it was good.

The izakaya where I ate it is in Tokyo (MInato-ku)... and I plan to eat again this Saturaday, this time in Kanda, I think.

When I was a kid (around mid 1980's) I got the chance to eat canned whale meat... I like it unfortunately that was the las time I did.

My wife eat regulary whale meat when she was in school (she live in Tokyo and Yokohama).... and neither her nor me and our families are from those "few places in Japan"... My father family are from Tokyo and Hokkaido, my wife's family are from Chiba and Gunma.

I have zero respect for this man, he broken Japanese law, refuse to face justice and now he is still to do this... of course, he is doing it remotely, very far from Japan.

I find commenters here confused. They will diss Japan for the slightest thing yet when an outsider does so they say he should be brought to Japan and locked up.

GuruMickToday  01:38 pm JST

Ossan...just let it go...

GuruMick....YOU need to just let it go. Look things up if you don't know the answer. Too many people don't bother to do that before posting and just parroting what they "heard".

I couldn't give a rodent's hindquarters whether Japanese, Norewgian or Icelanders eat whale meat. I give a damn when an individual carries out acts of violence on the high seas, using a controversial issue as an excuse, and putting the lives and safety of seamen at risk. Excuses don't justify criminal actions.

Japan is the low hanging fruit for 'activists' like Watson. He took full advantage of the world's inherent bias against Japan especially when it comes to things like animal rights. As someone else mentioned, Watson and his cronies aren't as brave when it comes to confronting whalers from Nordic countries, they wouldn't stand for harassment from activist types.

oldman_13 Today 12:24 am JST

Japan is the low hanging fruit for 'activists' like Watson. He took full advantage of the world's inherent bias against Japan especially when it comes to things like animal rights. As someone else mentioned, Watson and his cronies aren't as brave when it comes to confronting whalers from Nordic countries, they wouldn't stand for harassment from activist types.

Agreed. You said it perfectly!

They don't even have the guts to take on the china-nese dog-meat festivals where even little puppies are beaten, skinned alive and roasted over a fire. (Yes, there are pictures and videos of these online).

Or to take on the china-nese penchant for eating bats, turtles, etc. They're also not doing anything about the chinese ( and other east Asian countries) ivory trade for which elephants and rhinos are murdered for their horns and tusks.

Some Nordic countries even have "festivals" where whales are cornered into a cove and then slaughtered alive while the entire sea turns red with blood. Even children are encouraged to use hooks and harpoons on these poor whales. Yes, there are pictures of these too. The blood red sea is like something out of the Bible.

Sickening.

Even more sickening are the people who finance these so-called activists who only seem to pick on Japan.