TOKYO (AP) - Leading Japanese lawmakers savored whale-meat delicacies at a government-backed blubber bash Thursday and hundreds of supporters rallied in downtown Tokyo for the resumption of commercial whaling. Fishery officials and restaurateurs joined the nearly four dozen politicians for the evening VIP tasting party, meant to bolster Japan's pro-whaling push as it now plays host to the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission.
Topping the menu: Whale steak, whale stew and whale sashimi.
The issue has already been raised at the International Whaling Commission conference, which opened April 25 and runs through May 24 in the southern Japan port of Shimonoseki, the home port of Japan's research whaling fleet.
"I want our children to develop a good taste for whale," said Hyojun Shimomichi.
While Japan may still not have enough votes to overturn the ban, they nevertheless have plans to "double its research catch in the northwest Pacific and start harvesting a species it hasn't hunted in more than two decades." Note that 'researching whales' by harpooning them is the government of Japan's euphemism for whale hunting, these same 'researched whales' showing up on the dinner table at the whale conference after all...


A related story from last year - Japan pays for pro-whaling votes on International Whaling Commission
Thanks to the generous funding of the Japanese government, countries that have never even seen a whale, or eaten one for that matter, have been generously 'sponsored' (an euphemism for being paid) to become members of the whaling commission. "Japan has been paying certain small and poor islands nations to vote for pro-whaling resolutions in the organization, financing the membership of Guinea, for example, which has just recently joined the organization and votes, as can be expected, pro-whaling. This practice that subverts any pretence of objectivity in the organization, and the consequently the body has been drafting regulations designed to govern the practice of whaling when the international whale hunt resumes. Norway has been hunting whales in defiance of the ban on whale hunting that has been in place since 1982 and Japan has been conducting what they refer to as 'scientific research' and under this pretence has continued the practice issuing commercial permits for the of hunting whales and selling whale meat, and even attempted to get the organization to pass regulations allowing Japan to harpoon whales for 'scientific study' in the areas declared whale sanctuaries ... The membership of the organization has become tilted in recent recent years by the resignation of countries opposed to whaling and the recent efforts of Japan to rig the votes have resulted in a body that is presently almost evenly divided between those who oppose resumption of the whale hunt and those who want to return to a managed 'whale harvest.' The balance has been titlting towards a resumption of the hunt and now the organization has resolutions on the table which favor placing pro-whaling regulations on the fast track ... When the International Whaling Commission was established earlier this century, its membership consisted entirely of whaling nations, and it was the earlier pro-whaling policies of the organization that have been responsible for the critical decline in numbers we currently see in the world's whale populations. When the situation came close to being a total disaster, a world wide ban on whaling was declared in 1982."


In other interesting stories Whales take up the singing of new song - After some being joined by some whales from the western ocean, some eastern whales find their song catchy, and soon all eastern whales are singing the new tune...Researchers said that "it is an unprecedented example of a "cultural revolution" in whale songs ... the finding is intriguing because it suggests that whales may be attracted to the cultural novelty of a song and then adopt it themselves. Reporting their findings in the scientific journal Nature, the team said: "Such a revolutionary change is unprecedented in animal cultural vocal traditions and suggests that novelty may stimulate change in humpback whale songs."


Also interestingWhale culture passed down through the ages from mother to calf - While the Japanese goverment and the whaling lobby want to preserve 'the culture of whaling' by helping young Japanese 'develope the taste for whale' the whales themselves are busy trying to preserve their own culture, and, being intelligent animals, "whales have developed their advanced culture better than land-based species because of their environment. The immensity of the oceans, for example, has allowed them to travel easily in permanent groups. And living underwater also helps sound transmission, which has encouraged the whales to develop their own language for teaching their calves."


By the way, whales have no natural enemies, except people, who really don't need to be eating intelligent animals like whales, and also, like whales, can change their culture as well, learn to sing new songs, and so on...