Japan accused of vote buying ahead of International Whaling Commission meeting in London

Image taken from The Guardian.

There appears to be little sympathy in the international media for Japan's stand on so-called 'scientific' whaling.

In the UK The Guardian ran this piece.

"Australia will today call on Japan to end its controversial whale hunts in the Antarctic at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission in London, as condemnation mounts over Tokyo's attempts to build a pro-whaling majority ahead of the commission's main conference this summer.

Japanese delegates, meanwhile, are expected to push for international action against conservation groups attempting to disrupt the annual culls.

Japan was accused of vote buying after it hosted a seminar this week on the sustainable use of whales that was attended by 12 African and Asian countries - including landlocked Laos - that have recently joined the IWC or are considering doing so.

By bringing in sympathetic new members, it hopes to challenge the 1986 ban on commercial whaling.

Despite the ban, Japan continues to hunt whales every winter to collect scientific data it says is necessary to understand the mammals' migratory and other habits.

This season the fleet had planned to slaughter a record 935 minke and 50 endangered fin whales, but the slaughter has been hampered by confrontations with activists Sea Shepherd and Greenpeace.

Critics said Japan used the Tokyo seminar to offer aid packages to countries that had little or no history of whaling in return for their support.

"Once again it demonstrates the clear link between fisheries aid and support for whaling - a policy which Japan has been following since 1994," Greenpeace said.

The chances of overturning the moratorium in the near future are virtually nil, however. Anti-whaling member of the IWC, including Britain, outnumber Japan and its allies, and a three-quarters majority would be required to lift the ban.

Though Japan denied vote buying, an insider told the Guardian that there was a "likelihood that in the near future, at least one of the countries taking part [in the seminar] could find itself in receipt of a quantity of cash.---"

Meanwhile the Japanese media continue to stress attacks on the whaling fleet by the US-based Sea Shepherd organisation and comment on what portrayed as Australia's role in these protests.

"If the perpetrators can be identified, the Japanese government will demand that countries where they have citizenship hand them over to Japan. But Japan has extradition treaties only with the United States and South Korea.

In addition, many Sea Shepherd members are Australian nationals. As antiwhaling sentiment is strong in Australia, it is uncertain to what extent the Australian government will cooperate with the investigation."

The Daily Yomiuri online also expresses some concern that anti-whaling sentiment in Australia may affect visitor numbers to Japan's ski fields.