Japanese whaling town fails to find common ground with activists

Tue, 02 Nov 2010

Tokyo - A meeting between the leaders of a Japanese whaling town and foreign activists ended without any progress, news reports said Tuesday.

Local officials from the coastal town of Taiji in western Japan met with the activists from three anti-whaling groups, including the United States-based Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

The Taiji residents argued that many livelihoods depend on whaling and dolphin hunting, and underlined the importance of mutual respect for different cultures, Kyodo News reported.

Katsutoshi Mihara, chairman of the Taiji Town Assembly, was quoted by Kyodo as saying, "We have been living by relying on marine resources for our livelihood. We can't just let you force your values on us."

But the activists said while they understand dolphin hunting is part of local culture, it was an inhumane practice and could not be justified by the longstanding tradition.

Scott West, a member of Sea Shepherd, who said he had no plans to stop his protest activities, argued some things have to end when the time comes.

The two-hour meeting was not to open to the public and only some journalists were allowed to cover it. The town's representatives declined to hold a news conference after the meeting.

Taiji was brought into the international spotlight last year by the Academy Award-winning documentary The Cove, which criticized their annual dolphin-hunt.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/news/351451,find-common-ground-activists.html.