Go Rin No Sho (The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi) It would be foolish to confront the practices of a particular nation or culture without first attempting to understand cultural practices and beliefs. I have been opposing Japanese whaling activities since 1976, which led me to investigate the history of whaling in Japan. I had already undertaken a study of Japanese history. I admit that my studies were limited to events after 1600 with the emergence of the Tokugawa Shogunate to the Meiji Restoration and to present day. In 1969, I first visited Japan as a merchant seaman on the Norwegian bulk carrier Bris. We docked in Nigata and I was able to visit Kyoto where I took in the numerous museums and temples. I was impressed. That initial visit sparked a lifelong interest in Japanese history and brought the strategies of Miyamoto Musashi to my attention. In 1982, I returned to Japan to negotiate with Japanese fishermen on Iki Island to end the slaughter of the dolphins there. In 1981, one of my crew Patrick Wall, was arrested for releasing dolphins at Iki, and in 1980, my friend the late Dexter Cate representing the Fund for Animals, was arrested and held for months for freeing dolphins at Iki. I believe that the collective efforts of Howard Hall, Hardy Jones, Dexter Cate, Patrick Wall, Cleveland Amory, the Fund for Animals, and Sea Shepherd resulted in that slaughter ending by 1983. The Five Challenges in Japan Nihon no Itsutsu no Cyousen Today I find myself still in opposition to many of the atrocities inflicted by some Japanese citizens against marine life and I see that we have five major challenges involving conservation issues with Japan, including: (1) Illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, (2) the slaughter of dolphins in Taiji, Japan, (3) the annual slaughter of some 20,000 Dall's Porpoises in Northern Japan, (4) the threat of extinction of the Bluefin tuna, and (5) excessive and illegal pelagic longline fishing. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society has been actively involved in four of these issues. Whaling in the Southern Ocean since 2002, the slaughter of dolphins in Japan since 1980, and in Taiji specifically since 2003. The bluefin tuna fishery since 2009 and the longline fishing issue since 1987. When resources and time permit, we will address the fifth issue…the mass slaughter of the Dall's Porpoises. Right now, I would like to address the issue in Taiji with an explanation of Sea Shepherd's overall strategy in addressing this problem. Since Sea Shepherd turned the international spotlight on Taiji in 2003, the participation of Ric O'Barry and the production team of Oceanic Preservation Society (OPS), have elevated Taiji as a truly international cause. There is no question that international pressure, what the Japanese call ‘gaiatsu,' has become an important element, if not the most important element in combating the atrocity of the dolphin slaughter in the Wakayama Prefecture. read the full article here BM
