Background, Assessment and Likely Respondents on the Japanese Whaling Issue - Report Example

Japanese Whaling Name Course name Name of Institution Instructor’s name Date Japanese Whaling Background, assessment and likely respondents on Japanese Whaling issue For over a 1000, whaling has been an important part for Japanese society[Fac15]. In the recent years, whaling activity in Japan has met opposition from countries and organizations. Whaling in Japan can be tracked back to the 7nth century[Fac15]. In the oldest Japanese book called the Kojiki, it is chronicled that the first empire of Japan, Empire Jammu ate whale meat. For a long time in history, Japanese people obtained oil, food and other materials from whales. According to the Japanese famous saying, “there’s nothing to throw away from a whale except it voice” it is clear that Japanese obtain a lot of resources from whales. In the past, Japanese used to drive whale into net, harpoon them repeatedly, and the dispatch them using a long sword or a wooden plug driven in the blowhole. At the beginning of the 20th century, Japanese whaling activity saw a major improvement[Fac15]. This was because of the introduction of steam ships which had grenade-tripped harpoon guns. In 1994, Japan extend its whaling practice to Antarctic[Ulw14]. Whales were the main source of food to the Japanese people during and after the world war two. In 1947, almost half of the animal proteins consumed in japan were from whale meat. For twenty years, whale meat made about a quarter of the food consumed in Japan[Ani15]. One of the main reason why Japan have continued to hunt whales is because of their history and culture. An attempt to stop the act is seen as a threat to the culture of Japanese people. Japan has done a research on whales for the past two decades and it found out that they can be hunt sustainably for a long period. In 1986, the international whaling committee (IWC) banned commercial whaling in Japan even though the country continued killing whale in the name of research[Edw02]. It is very likely that Japan will commence hunting whales in the southern ocean regardless of the international whaling commission finding this as a violation of the international ban on commercial whaling[Ass15]. This will happen even after the international court of justice ordered them to stop whaling[Edi14]. The Japanese claims that the study they did on whales for the last two decades shows that whale can be hunted sustainable for long-term. Japan plans to commence whaling in the Antarctic later in 2015. According to the Tokyo’s revised proposal for the upcoming whaling season, japan plans to hunt 333 minke whales each year[Pre14]. This will take place between 2015 and 2027. This number has reduced to one-third of the previously proposed target. This because of the decline in domestic demand for whale meat[Ass15]. The recommencing of whale hunting in the Antarctica will faces a lot of opposition[Mor09]. The international Whaling Committee (IWC) rejected Japan’s revised program on whale hunting in the Antarctic. It said that the program did not have enough information for the committee to allow japan to commence hunting whales. Japan had presented two reasons why it should be allowed to kill whale. Firstly, it wanted to calculate the size of the whales population required for commercial hunting. Secondly, it wanted to gain a better understanding of the Antarctic marine ecosystem. ICJ ruled that whales in the Antarctica should not be hunted for commercial purposes. Environmental campaigners supported the ruling made by the international whaling committee on the issue[McM15]. Appendices References Fac15: , (Hiroyuki, 2009), Ulw14: , (Morikawa J. , 2009), Ani15: , (Jun, 2009), Edw02: , (Edward L. Miles, 2002), Ass15: , (IFAW, 2015), Edi14: , (Blok, 2008), Pre14: , (Rachel, 2015), Mor09: , (Morikawa, 2009), McM15: , (Richard, 2014), Wil09: , (Williams, 2009), Uni12: , (Elwan SH, 2011), Evaluation of the sources used and their contribution to the intelligence assessment The website facts about japan which talks about the history of japan Whaling is an authentic source. It gives an overview of how whaling started and the reasons why it started. Even though it does not give the exact date when whaling started in japan it at least give an estimation of the amount of years the practice has been going on. The source explains how whaling in Japan has evolved over the years and the changes that have occurred in the practice. The website writind.edilphl.edu. The source can be trusted and provides reliable information. This because it provides the exact years when certain activities on whaling occurred. It says that commercial whaling in japan was banned by the international whaling committee in the year 1986. This is the exact year when the committee banned the practice. This proves that the source of information contributes to intelligence assessment. Looking at the Abc.net website it gives information on the recommencement of whaling by japan government. The source says that the japan is back in the hunt for whales despite the international committee finding the act as a violation of ban on commercial whaling. The website provides and events as they happen from all over the world. It gives information that is reliable and can be used in research. The information it provides on japan recommencing its whaling practice is real since it is what the Japanese are planning to do. The same information has been given by other reliable sources thus making the website authentic. It contributes to intelligence assessment since it provides information that can be used in analysis of a selected topic of study. McMcurry has written an article about the views the members of the international whaling committee have on the issue of the Japanese recommencing their whaling activities in Antarctic. The article was posted on the guardian.com website which provides information that has facts about any topic being discussed. The editor of the website analysis the information to ensure that the information being posted is genuine and will contribute to better understanding of the topic being discussed by its readers. It contributes to intelligence assessment by ensuring that its readers are satisfied by the information it provides without questioning its authenticity. Morikawa, a professor in Oxford University has written a book on whaling in japan. In his book he highlights the main reasons why japan is pushing to be granted permission to recommence its whaling practice in Antarctic. According to him the move to hunt whales in the Antarctic is pushed by power greed, politics and diplomacy. This book provides genuine information on the issue because other study done also show that japan whaling activity is going to benefit a few greedy people but not the citizens of japan. It contribute to intelligence information by giving the real reasons behind whaling in japan. The data from the book can be used to come up with well detailed reliable report on the issue. A list of knowledge gaps There exist adequate amount of knowledge gap on the study of whales and whaling activity. Studies have been conducted to fill these gaps but still more studies are required. Japanese have done a study on the number of whales available in the Antarctic Ocean for the last two decades. According to the study, they found out that there is enough amount of whales that they can hunt for long-term sustainably. This has made them announce that they are going to recommence their whaling activity in Antarctic later in 2015. This will happen in spite of the international whaling committee finding the act has a direct violation of the 1986 ban on commercial whaling. Despite the drop in the demand for whale’s meat in japan, there is still a good number of Japanese people who consume whale meat. Japan people have been relying resource from whale for over a 1000 years. For this reason any attempt to stop whaling practice in japan is taken has an attempt to make them leave their history and culture. Whaling activity in japan has faced a lot of opposition from all over the world. The international whaling committee is on the fore front of the opposition. The committee rejected the revised program on whaling by japan. This was after japan had reduced its targeted whales to 333 every year from 2015 to 2027. The outcome of a meeting conducted in Rome by the international whaling commission changed its view on whaling activity. It now could allow limited killing of whales which would be within sustainable limits calculated using population data available[Wil09]. The committee did not consider the knowledge gap available on the number of whales in the ocean and so its calculations would be misleading. In the meeting only half of the 84 member countries were represented. This made the ruling by the present countries biased which makes the whole idea of limited whaling activities for five years a big risk. Opposing nations were outraged due to lack of enough scientific data that is needed before allowing japan to embark on its whaling activities. Japan had previously conducted a research on whales and did not find conclusive information on the mortality rate of whales despite killing thousands of whales. This leads to more questions as to why it should still be permitted to conduct another research having left such a big knowledge gap. The survey done on marine life is very inadequate. This makes analysts question the research done on the number of whales by japan. Nobody can tell for sure if there are adequate amount of whales in the Antarctic that can allow the Japanese to sustainably hunt them for long-term. This has seen the international whaling committee reject the proposal by the japan to conduct commercial whaling. The committee can only allow research activities. A research done by scientist in Scotland and Germany shows dangerous knowledge gaps on the marine species that are at danger of human activities[Uni12]. Painstaking research shows that only 6 percent of the ocean surface has been done adequately. This leads to more doubts on the study conducted by the Japanese on whales. It prove that whaling activities in japan are drive by politics and search for power. Latest studies lack adequate information that can help in the evaluation of threats that human activities such as whaling pose to marine life. There are adequate amount of gaps in the studies which needs to be filled in so that reliable analysis can be done. Study shows that only 25 percent of the ocean has been surveyed, with only 6 percent having being surveyed adequately[Uni12]. Some of the key findings are: firstly, most surveys have been conducted in waters on the northern hemisphere. Secondly, the only study done in waters in the southern hemisphere is the one done by japan in the Antarctic lead by the international whaling commission. The survey was to calculate the abundance of Antarctic minke whale. These whales are subjected to scientific whaling by japan even though what japan is after killing them for commercial consumption. Thirdly, there has been very little survey conducted on the high seas which makes it difficult to determine number of whales available in high seas waters. Fourthly, survey done in the eastern tropical pacific may seem to be adequate but is actually very little and cannot determine whales’ population in the waters[Uni12]. Read More