Japanese Support for Whaling at Only 26.8%

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 There may come a day in which the whale population or some part of itwill need to be managed. However, that is generally centuries in thefuture at best. It is also plausible that communication will beachievable and the whales can become active participants in themanagement of the seas themselves. We need them if that becomespossible.
In the meantime, we need to support efforts to change the Japaneseconsensus itself. Without popular support the Japanese double gamecannot end without considerable loss of face. A change of consensusallows a backing down in the face of a new reality.
Then a way must be found to engage that allows changes to take place.
We are heading for a world in which large mammals will all becarefully and humanely managed as a matter of course. Most willserve mankind allowing large populations. The rest will merely livein the edges as always.
Japan support forwhaling outweighs opposition: poll
by Staff Writers
Tokyo (AFP) Nov27, 2012
More Japanese peoplesupport the country's controversial whale hunt than oppose it, asurvey carried out on behalf of animal rights activists showedTuesday.
Of 1,200 peoplequestioned for the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), 26.8percent said the country should continue its hunt against 18.5percent who opposed it. The remainder expressed no opinion.
Japan hunts whalesusing a loophole in a global moratorium. It kills the mammals for"scientific research" even though the meat is later soldopenly in shops and restaurants.
Tokyo says the whalehunt is deeply embedded in Japanese culture and wants to resumecommercial whaling.
Environmentalistsroutinely condemn the hunt and maintain it does not have the supportof Japanese people.
In a press release,IFAW tried to put a positive gloss on the survey, which questionedpeople aged 15-79 nationwide over a 13-day period in October.
"The good peopleof Japan are taking whale meat off the menu," said PatrickRamage, director of IFAW's global whale programme, citing the 88.8percent of respondents who said they had not bought whale meat in thelast year.
The survey did notprovide results for how many people had actually consumed the meatover the period.
Japan's FisheriesAgency is to sell whale meat by mail order, the Mainichi Shimbunreported earlier this month. It said the move is aimed at boostingconsumption after demand fell as prices rose.
IFAW opposes allcommercial and scientific whaling and advocates whale-watchingprogrammes that it says generate around $2.1 billion annually forcoastal communities.
Japan's whaling fleetis expected to set sail for the Southern Ocean around Antarctica inthe next few weeks.
Tokyo will notdisclose the exact date of the departure, citing fears of attacks bymilitant conservationist group Sea Shepherd which habitually pursuesthe ships.