FAILING THE WHALE: Japan won a victory (of sorts) at this year's International Whaling Commission meeting after a long campaign

摘要

FOR THE PAST THREE YEARS, conservationists have approached each meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) wondering whether Japan would reach its cherished 15-year goal of achieving a simple majority of member countries in favour of its pro-whaling agenda. Abolishing the 1982 moratorium on commercial whaling requires a three-quarters majority, which remains some way off, but we always knew that Japan could wreak a lot of damage with even a narrow majority. Last year, Japan was expected to take over the IWC. Mali, Togo and The Gambia had joined and all were expected to vote with Japan, but none of them showed up. Nevertheless, Japan's confidence was not dented. "The reversal of history, the turning point is soon to come," it announced.