WHALING: FIRST NATIONAL WHALE FORUM PRESSURES GOJ TO RESUME

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 003455 SIPDIS STATE FOR D, G and OES/OA - MHAYES/JFIELD AND EAP/J USDOC FOR NOAA/NMFS - US IWC COMMISSIONER HOGARTH AND McCARTY SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: SENV EFIS KSCA IWC JA ETRD SUBJECT: WHALING: FIRST NATIONAL WHALE FORUM PRESSURES GOJ TO RESUME STCW INDEPENDENTLY -------------- SUMMARY -------------- ¶1. (SBU) Mayors from coastal-whaling municipalities have officially pressured the GOJ to voluntarily resume commercial small-type coastal whaling (STCW). At a July 7-8 public whale forum in Ishinomaki City, north-eastern Japan, four mayors from whaling sites -- Abashiri, Ayukawa, Wada and Taiji -- signed a joint declaration urging the independent action. As a panelist for the event, FAJ's Director for International Negotiations Joji Morishita commented that IWC Anchorage was a success to that end, contrary to most press reports, as it demonstrated how malfunctioning the IWC is. He asserted that Japan would have to play a different game such as putting the IWC into "hibernation" by sending only a small Japanese Delegation in 2008. At a seperate venue, Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Fisheries Office Director Ryotaro Suzuki said that he had never heard about the hibernation idea and it would not be possible. END SUMMARY. First Annual Whaling Municipality Conference -------------- ¶2. (U) Most major players in the Japanese whaling community gathered at a July 7-8 public event entitled "National Whale Forum" in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, north-eastern Japan. It was the first five annual meetings planned to promote whaling and whale food culture co-hosted by the National Association of Whaling-Conserving Municipalities and local governments. The conference replaced a similar event called "Japan Traditional Whaling Community Summit," which had taken place since the IWC 2002 Shimonoseki Meeting. With a subtitle "Food Variety, Moving Ishinomaki," this year's forum had attractions such as a celebrity panel discussion, booths serving whale meat and a whale museum open house. In part due to the good weather, the forum attracted 19,000 participants according to a local press report. Background: Ayukawa As Small Whaling Community -------------- - ¶3. (U) The two-day event featured main sessions in Ayukawa on Day 1 (July 7). It is an isolated rural port that used to thrive in the commercial whaling era and one of the four communities that have sought to resume commercial STCW for the past two decades at the IWC. It is currently one of the two bases for coastal whaling under JARPN II (Second Phase of Japan's Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the Western North Pacific) with an annual take is 60 minke whales. It also takes two non-IWC administered species, i.e. Baird's beaked whales (2007's catch is 26) and short-finned pilot whales (2007's catch is 36) as decided annually by the FAJ. An official in the Ayukawa area explained that Ayukawa locals have preferred eating minke whale to the other smaller species, whereas Wada has focused on Baird's beaked whales. The population of Ayukawa peaked at 8,345 in 1955, and it declined by 70 percent to 2,475 in 2007, mainly due to the contraction in in the whaling industry after the moratorium. Whaling has been essentially Ayukawa's lone industry, due to lack of other resources and isolated location -- its land is barren and not good for agriculture, and it is located more than one hour drive on a winding road from the closest train station. ¶4. (U) The main sessions on Day 2 (July 8) took place in Kahoku, northern part of Ishinomaki City, about 1.5 hour drive north of Ayukawa. Ishinomaki City Mayor Kimio Doi explained in a panel discussion (para 10) that he chose Kahoku as one of the two venues as he wanted residents in the area to better understand local whaling culture. In fact, outside Ayukawa, even Ishinomaki City residents can be ignorant about whaling. According to a survey by the Miyagi Prefecture Fisheries High School that was displayed at one booth of the event, eighty-seven percent of its food science major students did not know that there is still a whaling port in Ayukawa. ¶5. (U) On Day 1, following a Buddhist memorial service for dead whalers and whales, forum host Ishinomaki Mayor Kimio Doi asserted whale is definitely a staple food in the area, and declared that it was time to consolidate opinions in the Japanese whaling community so that they can resume STCW and pass on whaling culture to the next generation. FAJ Far Seas Fiseries Division Deputy Director Hideki TOKYO 00003455 002 OF 003 Moronuki made a somewhat poetic remark that Japan raised its fist at IWC Anchorage and is determined to make it resound all over so that the world will better understand Japan's whaling culture. Four Mayors Signed "Ishinomaki Declaration" -------------- ¶6. (U) A key event on Day 1 was a STCW town meeting that featured mayors from Abashiri City in Hokkaido, Minamiboso City in Chiba Prefecture, Taiji Town in Wakayama Prefecture and Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture. All four municipalities have sought IWC permission to resume commercial STCW for the past two decades. Ishinomaki City Mayor Doi stressed that he wanted to revitalize the city and Miyagi Prefecture at large by establishing a reputation as a destination for whale meat gourmands. Taiji Town Mayor Kazutaka Sangen remarked that he will cooperate with the National Municipality Association in order to obtain a "desirable result" within a year. In preparation for resumption of commercial whaling, Abashiri City Mayor stated that the four coastal whaling sites would work together to maintain whaling techniques. Minamiboso City Mayor Yutaka Ishii explained its whaling port Wada's unique position of taking mainly Baird's beaked whales. Then the four mayors announced and signed the "National Whale Forum 2007 Ishinomaki Declaration." It asserts that STCW should be treated equally as aboriginal subsistence whaling (ASW) and the four mayors "strongly request" the GOJ to voluntarily resume STWC. Local Whaler: An Annucal Catch of 200 to 300 Minkes Would be Ideal -------------- -------------- ¶7. (U) These sessions took place in front of a whale museum called "Oshika Whale Land," which was open to the public free of charge for forum's two days. In the museum lobby, a local craftsman demonstrated the carving of whale tooth necklaces, which were sold at prices from USD 200 to 300 each. The museum had a variety of exhibits including a 3D theater, a 16-meter (48-feet) long whale skeleton, an interactive whale quiz machine and samples of whale bodies and whale embryos and fetuses preserved in formalin that were donated by the ICR. Whalers served as guides at the museum. Asked about whale meat consumption from the coastal portion (60 minke whales per year in Ayukawa) of JARPN II, a guide with 35-year whaling experience from Ayukawa stated that its meat is rapidly gone for local consumption. He added that ideally he wants to catch 200 to 300 minke whales as STCW. Ten Mayors Across Japan Applauded "Independent Resumption" -------------- ¶8. (U) At the opening ceremony of Day 2, politicians, national and local government officials and others gave remarks. Councilor Tadashi Taura from Nagasaki Prefecture and a member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) gave his impression of attending IWC Annual Meetings. He felt that as Japan had chosen to make logical arguments, other nations had come to better understand Japan's position. Referring to his local situation, he asserted that whales were not endangered given the fact that vessels often accidentally strike whales. FAJ's Morishita referred to his 26-year career at the FAJ that has varied in scope including salmon, trout and tuna, and commented that the whaling issue stood out in attracting attention from all sorts of populations - politicians, government officials, researchers, adults and children. He added that the issue was unique in that Japanese politicians unanimously share the same view regardless of parties. ¶9. (U) After the ceremony, ten mayors from across Japan (in addition to the four in para 6, those from Kushiro City in Hokkaido, Onagawa Town in Miyagi Prefecture, Shimonoseki City in Yamagata Prefecture, Muroto City in Kohchi Prefecture, Shinkamigoto Town in Nagasaki Prefecture, and Nago City in Okinawa Prefecture) convened a meeting onstage in which each gave a presentation on his region's whaling culture. Kushiro City Mayor Yoshitaka Ito reported that his city caught the most whales from 1951 to 1961. It has conducted whale culture events such as a whale food contest by professional chefs. Smaller towns such as Taiji and Shinkamigoto voiced the need for commercial whaling to increase employment. Shimonoseki City Mayor Kiyoshi Ejima talked about his city's role as the whaling base for the Antarctic hunt and a distribution center of whale products in Western Japan. Finally, all applauded Ishinomaki Mayor Doi's announcement that he was determined to do his best, starting with TOKYO 00003455 003 OF 003 clearly communicating the Ishinomaki Declaration to the GOJ and political parties. FAJ Morishita: Put IWC Into "Hibernation" -------------- ¶10. (U) The ten-mayor meeting was followed by a panel discussion that featured actor Bunta Sugawara, FAJ's Morishita, Minoru Kimura, Chair of the Miyagi Prefecture Federation of Fisheries Associations, and a whale cuisine specialist Mieko Senda and Isinomaki City Mayor Doi. The discussion was moderated by Hidehiro Kato, Professor of marine animals at the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. A 400-capacity auditorium over-flowed with young and old, men and women. The crowd puller was 73-year-old Sugawara, who has appeared in more than 250 Japanese movies mostly as an outlaw character. Originally from Miyagi Prefecture, he has also frequently appeared in whale-related events. Sugawara recounted an NHK (Japan's public broadcast network) documentary aired in December 2006 in which he was on-board a JARPAN II research whaling vessel for two weeks. He argued that Japan should first focus on resuming STCW, and then expand whaling in the Antarctic when the Japanese local economy is completely revitalized. ¶11. (U) In response, Morishita stated that the GOJ has focused on STCW for the past several. He asserted that IWC Anchorage was a success and a step forward to that end, as it clearly showed that the IWC has been malfunctioning. This was vital for the GOJ to announce that Japan would resume STCW. He added that now that even such an "outstanding" STWC proposal for IWC Anchorage was rejected, Japan will have to play a different game from the IWC. Morishita recounted that even the U.S. panicked when Japan stated "we will not rely on the IWC anymore." Asked if Japan will withdraw from the IWC, Morishita noted that those who could not agree with the Convention should get out, and therefore Japan had no reason to do that. He continued that he would rather put the IWC into "hibernation." One way would be sending a small Japanese Delegation to the IWC in 2008. Sugawara responded that the GOJ still seemed wishy-washy, and said that Democratic Party of Japan's head Ichiro Ozawa may make a drastic decision if he comes into power. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶12. (SBU) One aspect of the "kakusa," or growing social inequality, that has been a political topic in Japan, has been the widening rural-urban income gap. STCW is certainly an issue that some politicians would take up as a selling point to help revitalize small whaling communities. While the "Ishinomaki Declaration" is not feasible given that Japan is bound by the IWC moratorium, the Declaration has certainly pressured the FAJ to take some measures. FAJ Morishtia's comments in the whale forum about putting the IWC into "hibernation" surprised even long-time insider in the Japanese whaling community Hidehiro Kato of the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. At a seperate venue, Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Fisheries Office Director Ryotaro Suzuki told Post that he had never heard about the hibernation idea and it would not be possible. The GOJ interagency dynamic on whaling bears watching. DAVISON