Mac's Musings
Whale of a time - damaging your public image.
21/12/2007Accidentally damaging your public image is careless; deliberately and wilfully setting out to destroy it is nothing short of extraordinary.
Yet Japan has done just that with its decision to resume hunting the southern humpback whale. Without apology and hiding behind a smokescreen of 'scientific research' they plan to kill 50, not to mention hundreds of smaller whales.
But should we be surprised? Not really. More than 60 years since the end of the Second World War they have still made no apology over the thousands of British and Commonwealth prisoners of war who died from starvation and torture in Japanese prison camps in the Far East. For this reason Japan remains a pariah state in some people's eyes.
No, Japan doesn't do apology and - as far as whaling goes - claims international support. It makes this assumption on the basis of votes in the completely discredited International Whaling Commission. The Commission supposedly represents whaling and former whaling nations but has been steadily packed in recent years by countries with no real interest in whaling but a crying need for international aid.
So impoverished countries in the Caribbean, for example, are persuaded by Japan to join the IWC with the inducement of a big wedge of much-needed cash. In return, Japan requires their vote on the resumption of commercial whaling. It's a cynical as that.
It's a policy which is openly supported by countries much nearer home, like Norway, and tacitly supported by many politicians in this country. Politicians somehow confuse Japan's Western-style democracy and importance as a trading partner with civilised international behaviour.
One mark of a civilised country is that it treats animals - especially the higher mammals - with respect. Like elephants and gorillas, we share much of our DNA with whales. Indeed, many people may feel we have rather more in common with these beautiful mammals than we do with Japan.
