Whaling in Japan: Power, Politics, and Diplomacy (Columbia/Hurst)

By Jun Morikawa

The Japanese government, the Institute of Cetacean Research in Tokyo, and environmental activists are engaged in a bitter battle over the future of Japan's whaling industry. Proponents of the practice hope to control the parameters of the heated debate by limiting the argument to the preservation of Japan's "whaling traditions and whale-eating culture" through "sustainable use," but, as Jun Morikawa makes clear, these terms only obscure the complexity of the issue. Offering a broader and more objective analytical framework, Morikawa investigates the political actors and forces that are creating, controlling, and implementing Japan's policy and continue to shape debate. Pro-whalers, Morikawa finds, have largely prevailed through the spinning of political myths, the manipulation of public opinion, and the utilization of antiwhaling activities to their own advantage. They have created a domestic consensus that allows Tokyo's whaling policies to continue relatively unchallenged despite stockpiles of whale meat that remain unsold. Morikawa shows how diplomacy and aid have helped Japan secure international support for its policies and evaluates the long-term future of whaling.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0231701187
• ISBN13: 9780231701181
• Release Date: September 2009
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 0.5" x 5.8"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher