＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:https://skawa68.com/
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
1. Japan has finally decided to “withdraw from the IWC”
On December 20th 2018, it was reported that “the Japanese government has decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which manages whale resources.”
Until now, Japan has persistently called for the necessity of “research whaling,” but it has become clear that the IWC is not at all “willing to listen” and has “no intention of changing its mind.” As a result, Japan has decided to “withdraw” from the IWC, as there is no point in remaining in the IWC any longer and the negative effects would be greater.
Personally, I think Japan should have withdrawn sooner, but I do commend it for deciding to withdraw rather than remaining in the IWC and wasting time.
This paves the way for Japan to resume its long-cherished “commercial whaling.” However, even if commercial whaling were to resume, there has been no “whale meat” on the market for over 30 years, so it is true that some people are skeptical about whether there will be a demand for whale meat and whether it will be commercially viable…
Following the withdrawal, Japan will discontinue its “research whaling” in the Antarctic and Pacific Oceans, and is reportedly in the final stages of making arrangements to resume “commercial whaling” in its “exclusive economic zone (EEZ)” from next year.
2. The IWC is no longer a fair international organization
The IWC was originally a “resource management organization” made up of whaling countries (currently 41 member countries), but the number of “anti-whaling countries” (currently 48 member countries) such as Australiaincreased, and in 1982 a “moratorium (temporary suspension) on commercial whaling” was passed, and no commercial whaling has been carried out since 1988, 30 years ago.
At the IWC General Assembly in September, Japan proposed the resumption of commercial whaling limited to abundant whale species, but Australia and other countries asserted that they were “firmly opposed to all forms of commercial whaling and so-called ‘scientific whaling.'” The government decided to “withdraw” from the IWC, stating that “it has become clear that the IWC does not accept the coexistence of different positions and opinions.”
Recently, I think there are many cases where the organization is swayed by minority opinions.
＜Don’t be swayed by “minority opinions”＞
The current whaling issue is caused by the fact that the original purpose of the organization, which was to be a resource management organization run by whaling countries, has been deviated from and many anti-whaling countries that have nothing to do with whaling have entered the organization and made it into a political issue.
3. Countries that selfishly advocate “whale conservation”
Australia, for example, has repeatedly made its own “self-serving” “whale protection” claims, and has also left unchecked and virtually tolerated the criminal activities of “Sea Shepherd” (this group is positioned as an “ecoterrorist”), which obstructs Japan’s research whaling with extreme violence.
There were rumors that these “eco-terrorists” were planning “terrorist actions” or “demonstration actions” (such as a “boycott of Japan”) at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in response to Japan’s announcement of its withdrawal from the IWC. Regardless of the truth or falsehood of the rumors, they continue to insist that they are right without any remorse for their criminal acts.
4. The moral of Aesop’s fable “The Wolf and the Lamb”
As Aesop’s fable “The Wolf and the Lamb” says, “He who wishes to do evil will always find some excuse.” “No amount of argument can change the mind of someone who has decided to do evil.”
In the first place, even an amateur can easily imagine that an excessive population of giant whales will lead to a decrease in the medium- and small-sized fish that they feed on, causing the ecosystem to collapse.
To digress, I believe that going forward, even if Japan cannot use force on the international political stage, such as at the G20 or the United Nations, it will be necessary for it to continue to persistently express Japan’s views.
Even though we are “under the American nuclear umbrella” through the Japan-US alliance, I think it will be difficult to get other countries around the world to accept proposals from Japan, a country that does not possess nuclear weapons itself.
However, shouldn’t Japan, in cooperation with the US, strongly advocate for an increase in the contributions of permanent members of the UN Security Council (China, the UK, France, and Russia all contribute less than Japan, with Russia in particular ranking 9th and being far too low) and a reduction in Japan’s contribution?