Japan to continue whale-hunting

Press, 20 February 1988, Page 13

Japan to continue whale-hunting

NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Japan will continue whale-hunting for research purposes despite an American warning that it would cut its fishing rights in United States waters, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said yesterday. The spokesman expressed regret over the statement of the Commerce Secretary, William Verity, last week that Japan’s fish allocation in United States waters could be cut by half following its decision to continue what it describes as scientific whaling. “We continue scientific whaling. We do not accept any emotional and sentimental argument (on whales) without scientific background,” the spokes-

man told a news briefing. He said the International Whaling Commission (1.W.C.) convention allows the killing of whales for purpose of scientific research. The I.W.C. in London announced on Monday that its members had voted 19-6 to call on Japan to stop research whaling.

The spokesman said Japan would bring up the matter at the I.W.C. general assembly in May. Japan’s scientific whaling programme, involving the killing of 300 minke whales in the Antarctic, will end next month. Much of the meat from the whales killed in the programme ends up in restaurants, where it is highly prized.