Japan's whaling shame

By Michael J.W. Stickings

This really isn't all that surprising:

A SUNDAY TIMES investigation has exposed Japan for bribing small nations with cash and prostitutes to gain their support for the mass slaughter of whales.

The undercover investigation found officials from six countries were willing to consider selling their votes on the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

The revelations come as Japan seeks to break the 24-year moratorium on commercial whaling. An IWC meeting that will decide the fate of thousands of whales, including endangered species, begins this month in Morocco. 

Why not surprising? Because this is how Japan gets its way on the IWC -- and the Times report confirms what we saw in The Cove, last year's powerful Oscar-winning documentary on the country's mass dolphin slaughter. If if you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it.

(Although I've never been, I love so much about Japan, from its food to its film to its literature to its culture generally. This, though, is simply abhorrent, and it should be enough to shame the country into giving up this ugly and brutal business for good.)